nielsonslovefamily

signs you've been remodeling for too long

2012-02-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

the refrigerator is in the living room...still.

along w/ALL the contents of kitchen drawers, doors & cupboards.

chicken nuggets from McDonalds are starting to be a "staple"

AND even worse? starting to taste good.

The front of my fireplace is now a makeshift table/kitchen/MESS!

You may, or may not, find a microwave in the bathroom

when you walk in to use "it". "It" = the bathroom that is,

NOT the microwave. Two for the price of one, right?

Kitchen cabinets remaining to be hung sit in my bedroom.

Along with decorative kitchen cake stands and glass bowls.

There is a stove top sitting forlornly in my daughters bedroom.

Waiting patiently for it's new home.

Tile samples can be found all around the house, if you look

closely--or even if you don't--you will find them.

in other news

2012-02-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

Eliza shaved both of her eyebrows off.

Don't even ask...

Yes, it was an accident.

We have laughed our heads off since Sunday.

The good news?

She is so fair and light of hair that you
can hardly tell...unless you look closely.

And well, then YOU might have a good laugh too.

92

2012-02-07T13:29:00.002-08:00

In a perfect world my children would always

be/do/say/act like I want them to.

However, we don't live in a perfect world,

and in any case I have to scratch my original

statement anyway. I don't think I would want

my children to be/do/say/act like "I want"

them to all the time. Right? Right!

In reality it is THEIR life. Theirs to live

and choose and fall and get up again. I am

here to love and support and be here for them.

If I'm doing my job right, I am here. Not

dictating.

(Ok this is sounding WAY too
serious for my post).

Speaking of choices (were we speaking
of choices?) my 18 year old son informed
me that:

a) he is 18 and can do whatever he wants

(true that brother!)

b) was going to the W.W.E. when it came to SLC

with all his homies. (wrestling for those

of you who don't know...)

(sounds like a dream day to me...not!)

c) and FAILED to inform me (us) that it was ON
SUNDAY(!!) until about the week before. (or I

can fault myself for not checking into things

more thoroughly).

d) he went.

We were awful & mean parents and made him go

to sacrament meeting before he went off to

break the Sabbath day.

Balance in all things, right?

Ironically halfway through Primary Kyle came

into the room with his phone.

From Josh: "Got a ticket on the way here!"

Along with a picture of the fight.

From Kyle: "Well that's what you get for

going on a Sunday!"

From Josh: "Well I was blessed for getting

a ticket on Sunday since I was going 92
(NINETY FREAKING TWO!!!) on the freeway in
a 65 zone and the cop only wrote me
up at 10 over (75)."

Yup, nice policeman.

He said to the boys (I am imagining him with
a hand on his gun belt, a swagger in his walk,
him chewing on a piece of straw in his mouth
and a southern drawl for some reason):
too many movies right? straw, seriously?

"In a hurry fellas?"

I'll say.

And in case you're wondering....and I KNOW
you are...he's paying the ticket.

what a difference a day makes!

2012-02-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

the hole again

starting floors on Saturday am

new over old

halfway point

we apologize in advance for all the dust in our home right now.

SORRY!

coming together...oh YIPPEE!

Most of the floor is in (kyle is leaving
me a sink and dishwasher until the end...
when he can transfer in one day the
"old" to the "new".) Most of the
cabinet bases are in. It's starting
to feel like a kitchen again.

Although our refrigerator just happens
to be in our living room along with
all the boxes from our old cupboards
still.

I LOVE the wood floors! We finally
decided on countertops (remember this
is NOT a $20K kitchen...we didn't have
$50 (and UP!) a square foot for
counters and so it was a very hard
decision since most things (granite,
quartz, cement, butcher block,
well, ALL solid surfaces start
in that price range.) We wanted to
find something that was more in the
$5/6 a square foot which made it
hard.

We finally found a "cement looking"
tile in a very dark grayish black.
It is an 18" square tile so that
leaves very few grout lines (which
was a worry) but they will be filled
in with dark grout too which will
help on cleaning and kyle can do
a 1/16" tile spacer which will make
for a smaller grout line and easier
cleaning.

I keep telling myself, "not your dream
kitchen Dor! HOWEVER, a huge HUGE HUGE
upgrade from the plywood you just left!"

It's coming together and if all the
tile pieces arrive via UPS, we could
have new counters done, a sink back
in place and (our old) appliances
workingby next weekend or early
into the next week!

My kids are getting sick of cold
cereal.

In other news (going along with the
theme of "what a difference a day
makes...")

I was released from Primary President
yesterday. Bitter/sweet. Glad to
be done w/the responsibilities and
heavier things that rested on my
shoulders. SOOOOO sad to leave
the kids, my dear sweet counsellors
and a sliver of my heart which stays
in that funny long skinny Primary
room of the Olympus 3rd Ward.

It was a good gig and a good run with
some very wonderful people, experiences
and blessings in my life!

Somethings always changing.

should i be worried...

2012-02-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

that my son keeps talking
in a fake... (how do i say
this politically correct?)

..."hispanic american" voice?

pretty much all day. every day.
lately. especially when playing
COD (oh so like i said, "all day.
every day.")

he has the accent down
really well.

and well, what with the
large number of boys his
age being called to serve
missions in CHILE (or S.A.)
maybe he's practicing
for his future.

...although I have my money on
New Zealand. If I had any money
OR any say. (like i do, right?)

he does do a nice Aussie accent
as well though. so maybe he
should give up all his college
dreams and just go in to
some sort of stand up comedy
act, or do impressions for a
living.

i'll say one thing, the kid
has talent.

kitchen update....there's a hole in the bucket dear liza, dear liza

2012-02-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

Well the HOLE is in my living room,

and my kitchen. Here is why we missed dinner

group on Saturday night~

Living room side of wall before removal

the only remaining chunk of my kitchen ...but hey! I

still can do dishes and have a dishwasher that runs.

This is what my living room looks like now. UGH!

Even UGLIER and older linoleum floors under the ugly and old

floors that were there. LOVE the stripes!!

Kitchen view of wall before removal (looking into Living Room)

Tearing up linoleum and subfloors

It's a fun job--thank goodness I have Kyle to do it!

Looking towards the stairs--Living Room wall to be

removed is on the right side of picture.

Just more messes.

Preparing to say "good-bye"

Pictures down, food table moving

Say "good bye" wall.

Ah, my manly man--he rips into walls!

One picture from the living room side.

Don't even ASK how much dust and dirt this made! :(

Everyone helping.... actually I'm taking pictures
and Puddy is eating. That's all she ever does...Eat.

Wall down, 2x4 braces up so the house doesn't cave it.

(It WAS a load bearing wall he took down after all.)

Looking from kitchen through to Living Room, new hole.

Getting ready to put the beam in to hold up our house.

And it's DONE!

Now for mudding, taping, priming, painting, texturing, trimming, flooring...

Well, lots more to do.

With the help of Kyle, myself and his parents we had the

house cleaned up in something like 2 1/2 hours--the next

day the dust had settled again and it looked like we

hadn't done ANYTHING. This week Kyle laid

new subfloor, finished lots of loose ends and will lay

NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS THIS WEEKEND!!!

Can I get a HALLELUJAH???? (the subfloor

is giving us splinters when we walk on it!)

A little closer...to being done.

And we're loving the hole!

Grace

2012-01-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!!

The BIG 1.5.

Do you realize what this means?

She can get her learners permit...

Lock your children safely away.

Grace we love you and are so glad

you're in our home.

The above pictures say it ALL.

She is FUNNY and silly and

gorgeous and FUN and loves

to be a part of a crowd and is loud

and laughs and lives life to the

fullest.

All of her parent teacher conferences

start with, "Grace sure is a great student,

but she has a little trouble with talking....."

To which we nod knowingly and tell

her to "hush" for something like

the ONE BILLIONETH time.

She adds sparkle to the room

and lights up our family.

She is our one thousand watt child!

Make it a great 15 Miss Gray.

Love your family.

everneath & cupcakes

2012-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

This week (Tuesday night) my friend Brodi Ashton had her launch

party for her new book (first book) Everneath at the Kings English!

It was SOOO exciting to go and support her in this

adventure. It was also SUPER fun to watch this whole process

from start to finish (a few YEARS!). I was lucky enough

to be one of the first readers of her book, when it was nothing

more than a few computer pages printed and stuck in a black

notebook. Honestly? I knew it was gonna make it this far!

Take it from a nerd who loves to read--and watch out

Stephanie Meyer, because Brodi Ashton is in town now!

Wednesday night our ward/neighborhood had ANOTHER "launch party"

in her honor. I of course had to bake some "Everneath Red Velvet" cupcakes

in her (and the books honor!) Way to go Brodi! We are ALL

so proud of you and this accomplishment! And read the book--it's

a good one!! (Sold out in Costco in ONE DAY!)

**********************************************************************************

And just because I was missing NYC so, I decided to come up with

my own Black and White cupcakes. They were divine!

kitchen pictures ....

2012-01-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

Window redo...this will be where the sink will be moved to.

(The entire kitchen is moving to the old "dining room" side-

the new "eating area" will be in the "old kitchen" side.

Got it?

Cabinet doors and hardware OFF--ready to take

doors to Ric to be painted.

Ceiling mostly done. Textured, lights in, and painted.

A LOT of deglossing cabinet fronts, then sanding, then

priming, then sanding, then painting, then sanding, then painting.

Well, you get the picture. FYI- Oil based paint REALLY stinks!

Well used paint brush

Priming, or painting--one of the two.

Cabinet bases almost ready and done!

Too many blues. I won't tell you how many we tried before

we found the right color. Let's just say the paint department

at Home Depot now knows us by "Kyle" & "Dorien". ;)

Lots of this used.

I have this one twice (accidentally)...it reiterates the difficulty in

the choice making process of choosing a blue paint.

SOOO many choices! UGH!

Final decision--Wood floor, blue paint, cabinet color.

A very soothing combination.

We're making progress, slowly but surely.

paradigm shift

2012-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

I have so much to blog about (my kitchen)
and my camera won't upload pictures onto my
computer...so for now let's say that things
are moving along slowly, but surely.

Flooring is purchased and will arrive Friday.

Wood. We still can't decide (don't have the
money for) on the countertops we (I) love.

Darn you Sam & Brodi for making me fall in love
with your leathered black granite! (love! love!)

Until then a story from the "gym".

I tell Kyle everyday I LOVE the place where I work
out every morning. I have met beautiful souls (albeit
older beautiful souls), but beautiful none the less.

They cheer me on, they speak with me about life,
the see me without make up every day and still
smile at me when I walk up the stairs to the track.

I have watched a couple there now for the past
year.

He is always smiling, he is sweet, he is tender
with his wife. Their interaction with one another
inspires me every day. She runs and runs and runs
and secretly has been my hero for the past year.
They have a kind word for everyone and I have
always wanted to ask the"secret" to their
happy marriage. Each time she laps the track she
smiles at him, he gives her a thumbs up and she
blows him a kiss. Every.single.time. I gauged
their age at near 70.

Yesterday, while she ran, he was on the elliptical
next me to so I tapped him with my sweaty hand
on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me"... I then
proceeded to ask him about his wife and marriage.

He replied (with his usual smile), "We are just
'precious', aren't we? Everyone says so!" He
was teasing me and then laughingly said..."Well
one of the secrets is that she has Alzheimer's."

He explained she was 69 (he was 72) and she had
been diagnosed 10 years earlier. She loved to
run and it was a comfort to her ever failing mind.

As she lapped the track it was consoling for her
to meet his eyes and acknowledge his presence.

They come to the gym every morning.

As I watched them finish up, he tenderly untied
her sweaty bandana, tucked her IPOD away in the
gym bag and helped her on with her coat.

He held her hand and smiled good-bye to me as
he led her down the stairs and made their way
home.

I saw this couple through completely new eyes.

It was a paradigm shift from what I THOUGHT I
was seeing, to what I was ACTUALLY seeing.

Yes, they were still a loving and compassionate
and kind two-some. Yes, you could tell theirs
had been, and still was, a great kind of love.

But as my view of them shifted through that
one piece of information, I saw more deeply
into WHO they were.

A little sliver of reality, and truth,
and pain, and life, and living.

He still loved this woman very much (that much
is evident) but not only does he love her, he
is her caregiver and guardian, the one who watches
over her everyday with care and tenderness.

It struck a chord with me about how much we really
never know about people (once again) and what
we are ALL really going through in our lives.

Daily struggles and burdens that are heavy on our
hearts. Most of the time while we face the world
smiling. It made me (once again) want to try
and love and know people for who they REALLY ARE
on the inside, underneath the smile.

Love them, hold their hands, buoy them up. I have
a sincere place inside of my heart that genuinely
cares for others. I don't always know how to reach
out and show this, I want to try and do better.

I am (once again) grateful for another lesson my
(older) friends at the gym have taught me about life.

To (once again) look inside, look past what we
THINK we may see to dig deeper to see what is
REALLY there!

Adding this to my short list of New Years Goals.

Well, that and the kitchen.

pictures to follow

2012-01-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

there is not much to show....

but we have:

* (most of) the ceiling painted and patched (one spot left
where remaining cupboards have to come out on the other side of kitchen).

*paint color picked out for cabinets "Roman Column" somewhere
between bright and creamy white---more towards creamy. LOVE IT!
(anyone in Oly 3 can look at Sam & Brodi's kitchen, i copied their color!)

*debates rages over flooring (wood we think) and counter tops.
what i love, we cannot afford, unless we can find a remnant (which is
possible, we just have to hunt it down). i always have that "wine taste
on a beer budget." (darn it!)

*we haven't decided whether to keep the island same color
or paint black-or another color-we have time to decide.
& i'm not worried...yet!

*it's simply a mess in my house & everyone has been sick with coughs, colds
and other unmentionable things. we are a living breathing cesspool of germs
at the moment.

*this has been super fun! ...so far.

*A huge shout out to Rick Bruce who is trading Kyle labor for labor and
helping us paint the cabinets. (He owns his own wood shutter business and
is painting them for us, kyle in turn will help them with their basement
remodel. WIN! WIN!) & the cabinets will have a nice professional,
sprayed on finish that will last! YAY!

pictures to follow.

21

2012-01-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

YEARS,

of marriage that is.

today is our anniversary.

i know some people are super mushy gushy lovey dovey (and good for you!)

i am not. my husband even less so.

i was telling one of my "friends" at the gym today that we had made it to
21 years.

she said "that is a LONG time!"

it is.

21 years of joy and sadness.

heartache and happiness.

trial and fun.

times when we BOTH wanted to go another way and
times when we BOTH wanted to be here very much.

4 kids. jobs. no jobs. houses. remodeling. school. travels. friends. memories.
everything all wrapped up together, creating the life we have and know.
and (for the most part) love.

ups and downs.

if anyone tells you marriage is perfect and wonderful all the time...

i think they're lying.

but i'm glad i've had my friend kyle with me for this journey.

he listens and tries really hard and has put up with me longer
than anyone should have to.

he tells me "KITCHENS" are the anniversary gift for 21 years.

(and well, technically per the internet its "brass" or "nickel", who
needs more brass or nickle, right?)

i'll take the kitchen. new or used.

it's a good thing that's what i'm getting, right?

happy anniversary kyle, thanks for sticking with me through IT ALL!

new year. new goals

2012-01-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

if you know me, you know i don't love new years.
a buncha hype for a new day with a new number tacked on the end
of the year.

whoop-dee-do-dah!

so i am setting the bar low.

really low.

for new years resolutions this year.

for me?

keep on keeping on, lacing up my shoes and sweating at the gym.

pluck my eyebrows at least twice. in 2012, that is.

love and cherish the moments with the tall guy that lives in my basement.
his days are numbered in that spot--it's still killing me. still. UGH!

smile more.

frown less.

get released from primary presidency.
(can't hurt to type that one out right?) LOL

finish the mess we started in the kitchen.

read a lot of good books (i prefer fiction)

take one "last fun trip" with all my kids together.
sure, kyle can come. hopefully this will happen--
seniors, senior trips, college and all that jazz is
REALLY expensive.

on that note: win utah lottery.

oh wait! utah doth not have the lottery.
maybe drive to idaho and win THAT lottery. :)

happy new year everyone.

remember MOST of what spews out of this mouth is
TONGUE in CHEEK, sarcastic and meant to be silly.

smile more! :)

123

2011-12-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

We're a step beyond this...after a nightmare of adding

can lights for kyle for two straight days, we have no walls left,

can lights in and the ceiling hole sheetrocked.

It is a slow moving process...we're thinking by March

it will all be done. There is more dust than I like and

we haven't eaten a well balanced meal for days.

I certainly have a love/hate relationship with redoing/remodeling.

But, I do love it when it's all done. I will keep thinking

of the finished product. And wishing I were at a hotel

with maid service for the whole experience! ;)

the way things were

2011-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

I know! I know! Try not to become jealous of our ugly old outdated, or in otherwords
RETRO kitchen. Ok, it's just ugly. Every house we move into (that is of course a "fixer
upper") we seem to do every room, saving the kitchen for last.

WHY? I always ask 5 years into living there. (In this case--almost 8
years!!) OH WHY?

Well, I was bound and determined (and bound and determined to convince Kyle
to be bound and determined!!!) to do a kitchen at "some point" ...."on the cheap."

The cheap I tell you! We had plywood cabinets, old linoleum floors and in reality
NOTHING worth salvaging. It certainly functioned and I did not NEED a new kitchen.

But I sure WANTED one.

I searched high and low on KSL ads for months and months, sent emails to relatives,
contractors and friends of friends on the off chance someone was tearing out a kitchen
that we could have the cabinets from.

Without going "custom" we needed more than a few to make it work.

As luck would have it, two days before Christmas I was surfing KSL and found
an ad I had missed in previous searches. A full kitchen INCLUDING some appliances
(they offered ALL, we took some!) for about $750. We decided to go take a peek.

They were solid wood, they were in GREAT shape, there were lots of pieces for
Kyle to work with and we decided to take the plunge. The seller knocked off $200
if Kyle would dismantle and haul them away.

Of course, Kyle would. He probably would've walked to Provo for the $200
discount.

Long story short. We are INSANE! We have cabinets and we are "redoing"
the kitchen. We are trying to stay in XXX price point and see what we come up
with. It will NOT be the kitchen of "my dreams"--BUT it will be a BIG step
up from plywood cabinets original to the house (1950 people, 1950!) and
green and burgandy tile counters.

We don't know exactly how it will all turn out--but Kyle and I are always up
for a challenge and adventure when it comes to planning and figuring and
making it all work out.

We have spent nights and days and hours and hours talking and planning
and measuring and reworking. We let the kids paint/color/hammer the walls.

The wall between the old "dining" room and kitchen is now gone and Kyle
has worked hard to get new electrical in today.

I love it that I have a husband who knows how to do EVERYTHING...literally!

From tile to electrical to plumbing to floors, sheetrock, painting, you name it--
he does it. Our labor costs are free, a BIG plus.

Will update with progress periodically. We are in it for the long ride--excited
to see if we can make it all work on our shoestring budget. So far, so good!

celebrate good times....come on!

2011-12-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Dinner....

Ready to Eat.

Happy Bowls...

& Cinnamon Rolls...

Taco Soup

Homemade caramel sauce with apples

Grandma Ladanye joined the family for Christmas week.

Sparkling.

Looks like Santa DID come!

He drank his Dt Coke...don't let anyone fool you--it IS dt. coke he drinks!

Holiday Lights.

Ripping in to the good stuff!

Piles of gifts.

Spoiled!

Grace, the princess, camera shy on Christmas morning.

Fires buring brightly.

Loot here, boxes empty.

Puddy got her cruiser.

Josh & Puddy build Legos, no Christmas is complete without them!

Riding off into the sunset.

Until next year!!!

ACT, U of U, PMM

2011-12-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

PMM: Proud Mommy Moment....

Josh got his ACT's back today.
Score: 30
Composite Score: 32

PDG (pretty d@mn good!!)

Also in the mail today?

Acceptance letter to the University of Utah. (U of U)

Between his GPA and ACT we *think* he will be in the running
for a full ride scholarship! Applications being started after Christmas
break.

I guess I will be a Ute fan from now on. :)

Go UTES!!!

get your epi pen ready

2011-12-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Well, the Winter Formal was exciting at least.

His date, who was supposed to pick him up at 5:15 had his sister CALL Josh
at 5:15...apparently Sarah (the date) ate a nut she was allergic to and had to
take an epi pen shot, prescription Clariton and one other allergy medicine
because of a severe allergic reaction.

Dinner was off...the dance was a maybe depending on how well Sarah recovered.

By 7, she was well enough to have her sister drive them to the dance (she was
high on multiple legal over the counter drugs and couldn't drive). She arrived
decked out in teal and looking lovely, albeit a little "tipsy".

Apologizing profusely for missing the first part of the date and for having her
sister be the driver. We felt so bad, but were happy she was well
enough to make the dance and after activities.

They looked stunning in matching colors and I will be up til 3 AM waiting
for the boy to come home!

prayer of gratitude

2011-12-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Each year our Church Youth Group (ages 12 to 18) does a "Holiday Activity"
with the Special Needs kids in our area. These kids have a variety of disabilities,
and range in age from 8 to 28. It is a long standing tradition and is something
our youth look forward to all year.

THIS year, one of the special needs girls was saying the closing prayer and
in her words said, "And I'm so thankful that Josh is the HOTTEST BOY EVER!
He's SO cute!!....Amen."

Needless to say there were giggles all around.
And it IS worthy of a blog post, right?

We're so thankful for our "Hottie!" (wink wink)

"Hottest Boy Ever!"

AMEN & AMEN!!

when you leave 17 (& 18 yr old boys) home alone...

2011-12-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

This is what happens....

...When the boys are left home alone.

That WAS my basement bathroom sink.

Porcelain in granite. They thought it would be FUNNY (and fun?)
to put a fire cracker in the sink. And then see what would happen.

(Well, I could have told them if only they had asked!
Which they didn't....ask that is!)

Well, firecrackers and porcelain sinks don't mix....obviously.

The one good thing was that there WERE tampons under the sink
to catch all the water the spilled all over the bathroom when the
sink blew up.

Sigh...17 year old (and 18 year old) boys.

WHAT ARE they thinking????

I'm trying to decide if I want to laugh or cry...probably a little of both.
But mostly laugh...we've made it a LONG time, and a LOT of
explosions with no incidents. It could have been an arm, or
an eye, or worse.

Next time, I've instructed them to blow up my kitchen sink which
I hate.

P.S. I must add it was NOT my son, but a friend.

its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

This is how it's looking here....

How about you? How is it looking at YOUR house?

giving thanks

2011-11-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

We all met at my big sisters to eat.

There was lots of food.

Lots of teenage girls (we run heavy on girl grandchildren

on my side of the family....poor Josh!)

Grandma Ladanye came for the day.

It was our first Thanksgiving without Grandpa,

it made my heart a little sad.

Olivia ate from 1 PM onward until she finally

threw up at 1 AM. My peanut butter cream cheese

pie made a reappearance then.

At least she made it to the toilet!

Three cheers for that right?

Kyle geared up for his usual Black Friday routine.

He had 3 helpers this year. Josh, Grace & Eliza.

They each took a line at Walmart to "score" some

good gifts for Christmas. Kyle said it was

actually the MOST crazy year he's seen in a long time.

I slept and went BACK to Target & Walmart at 9 AM-

the stores were strangely "empty". (The quietest I have

ever seen them on a Black Friday morning).

This year I am thankful for family and friends, I am grateful

for dear friends who walked me through grief and surgery

and held my hand without asking why I was crying.

I am grateful for a husband who is still picking up pieces of my life

that seem to be left falling behind me. Some days in huge chunks.

It's been a hard year emotionally for me.

Death, fear of cancer, a surgery and watching a big son grow up

and get wings. In many ways, a harder year than I thought it would be.

I am thankful for a house full of teenage boys many days

and many nights. I love to hear the sound of their laughter

drifting up from the basement. I love to watch them eat me

out of house and home. I wouldn't want it any other way.

I am thankful for 3 beautiful (albeit very spirited) daughters.

They teach me about love, and sometimes its painful.

I'm grateful for all the primary kids in my ward that make

me cry when they sing. I'm grateful to work with amazing,

strong and wonderful women who teach me so much.

There have been lots of tears this year

and lots of breathing IN and OUT.

I'm thankful 2011 is almost over!

It will be a good one to shut

the door on.

Lastly, I'm thankful for peanut butter cream cheese

pie. Dang! That stuff rocks!

Seriously, seriously rocks!

josh's eagle court of honor

2011-11-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

Kyle*Josh*Dor

Josh

Patrick*Alex*Josh...the newest Eagle's.

All pushing 18 the day they got it done.

Josh and his Grandparents & Great Grandparents

4 Generations of Nielson men

Kyle saying some nice stuff
(although he looks kinda mad--he's not!)

Getting pinned

Josh entering the "Eagle's Nest"

Josh*Patrick*Alex & Harland Hammond...

tireless scout leader who helped (shoved

and pushed) them along the way to

get their Eagle's.

Congrats Josh, we're so proud of

all your hard work. And I'm so

glad you're my ONLY son. ;)

The whole dang crew--longways--

the real deal

2011-11-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween came...and went.

The Seniors went to a party.

Sharpies were used for creating facial hair, well,

since honestly none of them have any (facial hair).

All decked out. Flashing gang signs (like they know what a gang sign is!)

The girls got ready to go on the hunt for candy.

Walking shoes on....laced up and ready for travelling.

Waiting anxiously to head out.

A witch and her shadow headed to the neighborhood hot dog roast!

Some of the neighborhood gang.

Treats were given. Tricks avoided.

Pumpkins lit on the porch waiting for trick or treaters.

A witch in the window keeping watch.

It was a good one. PERFECT weather. Lots of treats,

with no tricks. Happy kids high on sugar. As it should be, right?

Happy Halloween 2011

Monster Mash

2011-10-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

The Monster Mash AKA Halloween Dance for Oly High was

this past weekend.

Lucky for me, I got stay up until 3 AM.

(waiting for the boy to come home).

USUALLY I doze, this year for some

reason sleep would not take me until

he came home.

I LOVE dance nights....

(hint of sarcasm in case you missed it).

There are no pictures of the date--he was asked

by a sophomore who he had never met/talked to/

spoken with until Saturday night.

Sounds awkward to me, but he says it was fun.

Their 60 person group went as Mobsters & Flapper Girls.

Move over John Gotti, or The Godfather...

Josh Nielson is here.

(And he definitely needs a new name if he is entering

the world of the mob. "Josh" is no where NEAR

tough enough sounding to be dealing in the shady world of gangsters.)

witching hour...an hour early

2011-10-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

Halloween came early this year. Four days early to be exact...at the school anyway.

They decided not to have Parades and Parties ON Halloween (Monday) this
year...I am not sure the reasoning on this, but I just showed up anyway and took
pictures.

One witch.

One cowgirl.

One store bought.

One from Grandma's costume closet.

After 18 years of doing this...I'm down to cheap and easy.

Mostly easy.

Happy (early) Halloween!!!

10 pound bag-- revisited

2011-10-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

There it is...

The 10 pound bag of chips from Costco.

I am either proud or embarrassed to say (or admit) that in LESS THAN one
month the entire thing was used up.

Finished.

Completely Gone.

In fact, on Monday I had to go get ANOTHER 10 pound bag from Costco.

I will blame it on the facts of no less than 3 birthdays, numerous teenagers
begging for food, a few neighborhood parties, one pig roast and A LOT
of baking.

I feel tired just typing that.

And I know for a fact how spoiled "the boys" (as in "Josh & friends")
are when they were at my house for lunch today and were pouting, sulking
and overall disgruntled over the fact that I had no cupcakes waiting
for them today.

I'll work on it.

Happy Birthday to the Big Guy!

2011-10-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

(I don't have one with Grace & Kyle....not sure why)

Happy Birthday Kyle!!

Enjoy 39 (again!)

We love you!

Thanks for all you do.

And for putting up with 4 hormonal women daily. It's more than a mortal
should have to do some days!

We can have a duel (or smack down) to see who gets to go with Josh
on his mission. And who gets to stay home with all the girls.

Love,

Your family

there is a reason i don't work in the medical field

2011-10-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am working THREE part time jobs right now.

Unfortunately NONE of them is making me rich.

Darn it.

1. I nanny for two orthopedic surgeons. (who
are rich!) One week of the month, I pick up
their daughter from daycare, bring her home
and play with her. Until they are done cutting
people open. Then they come and get her.

2. I still "Ebay". This supports the dressing of
my children and a yearly family vacation.

3. I am working part time on a "scanning project"
at Kyle's clinic. They are finally going "high
tech" (online medical records). I get to make
sure ALL the documents are electronically where
they should be.

After looking at record after record after record,
I realized that seeing things like "stool sample",
"toenail fungus sample", "wound pus sample", and
the literal inside view of someones colon is too
much for me.

It makes me gag. And this is only READING about
it.

Can you imagine how awful it would be if I actually
HAD TO touch, gather, or LOOK at (heaven forbid)
ANY of those things?

Thank goodness for Doctors and thank GOODNESS I am
not one. Or a nurse. Or an MA. Or a receptionist
in a clinic.

I think my gag reflex is calling me...

Stool samples. Seriously? I even had to call
Kyle to, er, ask how one went about doing that.

The "gathering" of a sample.

He explained the process to me and actually had
the gall to add "oh and it's so much NICER than
it used to be."

After he told me, I went and threw up.

Again I say, seriously?

SERIOUSLY??? (In my best yelling voice!)

There is a reason I don't do this for a living.

God's Paintbrush

2011-10-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

On Conference Sunday we decided to drive the Alpine Loop.

Along with half the state of Utah.

Seriously though...is there ANYTHING as

beautiful as Utah in the fall?

When I die, I want to go to live in Utah in the fall.

Where its fall all year long.

The colors are amazing.

And the pictures don't even come CLOSE to

capturing the true beauty.

The blue of the sky.

The gold of the leaves.

Mixed in with orange and red and green.

I like it when God decides to paint.

He does a good job!

one more

2011-10-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Party.

Consisted of about 10 hours of cooking.

(thanks me)

6 Boys

6 Family members

1 Alfredo Chicken Pizza

1 Meat Lovers

Completely from scratch,

crust, sauce and all.

1 huge bowl of Alfredo Chicken Linguine

Breadsticks

Salad

1 Home made Cheesecake for deep frying the

night before.

1 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese 4 layer cake

4 tubs of Ice Cream

Lots of dishes

18 candles

1 Smiling Boy

going backwards for a minute

2011-10-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

She turned 12.

Her "gift" was the Taylor Swift concert with her dad.

(Lucky man!)

She got her mustache earrings!

(Lucky girl)

She started Young Womens.

She wanted chocolate peanut butter cake.

She got 4 layers.

We needed Laura to make it look cute--

but it tasted great (and looked not cute!)

She had a great one!

by the hair of our chinny chin chin

2011-10-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

He did it!

Hallelujah!

Josh finished up his Eagle Scout project

in the nick of time.

He collected hygiene items for the Road Home

Homeless Shelter. His goal was 500 items--

due to the generous donations of our AMAZING

ward and neighborhood he received over 2200

items. Along with almost $300 in cash to

buy more items for donation.

It brought tears to my eyes to see the piles

of things that he received.

He then took these down to the Road Home along

with us (his family) and several Young Men leaders

and a few of his friends. We spent 4 hours

serving in the warehouse and helping them with

whatever they needed help with.

In total he spent 92 hours on the project and

benefited something close to his heart and our

community.

The Road Home relies SOLELY on donations to run

and they told us that (I think) around 80 to 90%

of the things they get are through Eagle Projects.

It's amazing that this shelter runs on almost

THAT alone in the SLC valley.

Yesterday he had his board of review and on his

18th birthday finished up all things needed

for his Eagle.

Yay Josh!

last two: 17, 18

2011-10-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

17. Would have to be the story of Josh's birth. It was 10 days before
his due date and I was in bed asleep.

Being 9 months pregnant sucks. (So sue me).

Kyle was helping his Dad coach football and I was tired. He came home
from the game and our then golden retriever jumped on the bed. At that
exact moment my water chose to break. It was awesome. (ahem).

We bundled up our things and headed to the hospital checking in at midnight.

About 6 hours later I was ready to push out a baby.

It took 1 1/2 HOURS of pushing.

The trouble was the baby was big.
Tipping the scales JUST shy of 9 pounds.

And his head was even bigger.
98th percentile big.

HUGE.

Long story not short enough...but it took a Doctor, an Anesthesiologist
and a nurse PUSHING on my belly and one Doctor pulling on the baby
with forceps to get him out.

It was not pretty and I am pretty sure I couldn't walk or pee or sneeze for
weeks afterwards without enduring pelvic torture.

People say you forget the pain.

That is a lie.

I remember afterwards, I had (literally) a hand shaped bruise on my belly
from whomever was on the pushing end.

An imprint of a hand on my belly.

It was like a reminder of this child.

The imprint he left on my heart.

It was after MUCH pain and heartache that He finally came into
this world and our home.

When Josh was born, he healed our very broken hearts.

Hearts that had been broken for babies lost, and dreams gone.

My heart was made whole with the birth of this child.

There were new dreams, and I felt like the breath I had been holding
for two years, and one stillborn and two miscarriages and many months
of infertility later, and I could finally EXHALE.

It felt good.

I am thankful for handprints on my belly reminding me of the pain
I had to endure to bring my son into the world.

I am grateful for the healing of hearts with the birth a child that day.

18. I don't have a story for 18.

Because the stories will now be His to tell. He is at a finishing point soon
and a starting point as well. The future lies before his feet. What path
he will walk down is yet to be seen.

I hope there will much happiness, yet I hope that there will be
some sadness too. Not a lot, just a little.

So that he can learn and grow. And become the man he is meant to be.

I am sure there will some great choices and some that will make us wonder.

It is sad, and so very exciting to see this child grow.

It's hard to let him go. (so so hard)

But it is the way it is supposed to be.

I am blessed and honored to call Josh my son.

It is one of the greatest joys in my life to be his mother.

Correction: It is THE greatest joy in my life to be a mother.

I am grateful he taught me about Joy.

Happy 18th Birthday
Joshua Kyle Nielson!!!

fifteen and sixteen

2011-10-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

15. "Rainman"

Yup, like from the movie of the same name.

The one with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

We lovingly call Josh this all the time because of
his memory and ability to quote movie lines, TV show
lines, song lyrics, scripture references, the list
goes on and on.

If you either want to be annoyed OR impressed sit
with him through a movie, like say Lord of the Rings.

He can quote the ENTIRE thing line for line right
along with the actors.

Impressive?

Annoying?

A little of both probably.

He can also quote Rainman, in case you're wondering.
(Of course the edited version on cable!)

16. Grace & Josh AND Josh & Grace

16a. If you've read my blog OR know me personally
you know that bringing babies into this world took
a lot of work. Not just one time, but every
single time around. It was hard and disheartening
work.

I literally HATED being pregnant and basically
the whole experience. After one stillborn and
a few miscarriages, it sort of took all the joy
out of the experience and mostly I just WORRIED until
I was holding a living, breathing baby after 9
months.

Between kids there were many months of ups and downs,
waiting and breath holding to see if things had
worked.

Josh and Grace are 3 years and 3 months apart.
In our culture (the Mormon one) that's a big
spread. But hey! that's how it worked for us!

One day, during the many months of "trying",
medicating, and whatnot that occured
between Josh and Grace--
Little 2 year old Josh crawled into my bed one
morning (with his Nie Nie) and snuggled up to me.

True Story:

He said to me, "Mom, Jesus is sending me a little
sister with red hair and green eyes and her name
is Grace."

I immediately got up and went out and bought a
pregnancy test.

It was positive. After a year of NO, our
answer was finally YES again.

Say what you will about this life, a previous life
and a next life...but here was a 2 year old boy
with a connection to something somewhere that knew in
his soul what was taking place. It wasn't a
knowledge that he had learned or could even
express in any kind of depth, yet HE KNEW.

A baby was coming. His sister, Grace.

I believe he knew her someone once before this
mortal life and his 2 year old spirit felt
her presence coming close once again.

For the record, Grace came out with a HEAD FULL
of auburn hair and green eyes. (They stayed
green until about her 2nd birthday at which point
they turned the brown that all my children's
eyes have.)

16b. The day Grace came home from the hospital,
Josh broke out in Chicken Pox. Fortunately, Grace
never broke out as a 2 day (or any day) old baby.
(Mothers antibodies!)

13, 14

2011-10-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

13. Josh's friends

.... i feel like i have not one, but 5 or 6 sons--all of whom i will miss
like crazy in the near future. CA-RAZY.

come graduations and missions and departures for life and
all that lies ahead.

sure, they hang out at our house all the time, and sometimes even
when they should be in school.

sure, they are loud.

sure, they can giggle like girls. (like girls i tell you)

sure, they play hours of COD and miscellaneous video games in my basement.

sure, they blow up TV's in my backyard.

sure, they build potato launchers and blow up potatoes in my backyard, too.

sure, they eat me out of house and home.

BUT

i wouldn't trade it for the world.

the world i tell ya.

"Life guarding" with Jack, Nate and Mitchell

Spud Launcher at Bear Lake with Conner Mitchell Josh Jack & Nate

Bear Lake with the guys

Josh Conner Jack Mitchell Nate

With the guys and Ron

Josh & Nate California 2011

Josh & Nate (REAL josh & nate)

For some reason TANNER is not pictured in these--
he "up on the roof" & in funeral pictures.
Wouldn't want to forget Tanner.

14. ...around AGE 14 i was warned by mothers who had passed
through that spot before me to "be prepared", "be warned",
"14, it's a bad age!"

meaning: mood swings, arguements, fights, slammed doors, the silent
treatment, talking back, all that fun stuff.

and yes--they meant with BOYS. (the girls come out of the womb this way-
it just gets WORSE at 14!)

14 came and went.

and then 15.

and 16.

and 17.

i kept holding my breath, waiting for the "bad" time, the time we would butt heads.

we still have not passed through that with Josh.

Could be his temperament.

Pretty sure it is.

he came that way right from the start.

i thank my lucky stars everyday for his easy going and even keeled
testosterone island in our estrogen ocean.

God was looking out for my sanity when he said, "I think I'll send her
one of these...every mother deserves ONE of these!"

Josh, age 14

he LOVES being the only boy in a home filled with sisters!

How he REALLY feels!

Enough already!

eleven ... twelve...

2011-10-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

11. Star Wars Guys...this was the DEFINITION
of "Josh" for many years. While this is not his
collection (it is stashed in a big Tupperware box
in his closet), it rivals his many "guys". He played
NON STOP with them for a lot of years. All the while
role playing one of the "guys". Han, Luke, Darth.

Now his two nephews sometimes get to touch the sacred
collection of men when they come over. Consider
yourselves lucky, very very lucky, Eli and Grayson!

12. LEGO's...DUH! Do I really need to say
anything else? Considering he is almost 18 and
STILL gets a new one every year for Christmas.

The boy LOVES him some LEGO's. There is a certain
noise all those bricks make when sorting through them.

You know the noise, if you have a boy.
A boy who LOVES Lego's.

If he grows up to become an Engineer (his current
college degree goal), I will happily trace all the
roots of that back to his Lego playing days.

It may also make me feel better about all that cash
spent on them too~ (wink)

9, 10 begin again

2011-10-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

#9. Up on the rooftop.

the day after Nate's dad, Ron, died this summer,
all the kids were at our house. For one solid week
they hung out here--circling their friend with love
and noise and food and chatter.

as Ron would have wanted it.

one day, just for the heck of it, they lugged all my
"happy chairs" up to the roof.

and sat. and texted. and laughed. and talked.

we WERE home, we DID let them do this. we WERE being
semi-responsible parents. (even though one of our
less desirable neighbors did come over and yell at
us about this...to which i replied...well, things
best left unsaid.)

Josh learned about true love this year. A different
kind than what we normally think about when we say
"true love." This is the deeper kind, that comes
through heart ache and friendship and healing.

#10. with death comes learning

Death made an imprint on my boys soul this year
and caused him to stretch and think and grow.

first, his grandpa ladanye who died in march.

i watched as josh thoughtfully, and carefully,
"composed" and rearranged his own version of grandpa's
favorite song ("how great thou art") and bawled as
he practiced it and filled our home with a wonderful
spirit as he played it.

over and over, until he got it "right".

i proudly watched him play at the funeral.

which is saying a lot...josh HATES (hates! hates!)
to play the piano in public, but did it for a grandpa
that he loved.

second, at Ron's funeral josh and all the friends
were pall bearers.

it brought tears to my eyes to see them sitting
all lined up in their white shirts and ties and coats.

big, tall, handsome, somber boys.

respectfully honoring a man that they loved.
a man that loved them in return.

they carried the casket with dignity and grace
and the hearts of boys MUCH older than 17.

i saw that day a glimpse into the souls of ALL
those boys--i saw a glimpse of the men they will
each become.

i liked what i saw.

i know (know!) our future is in good hands!

just as Ron was in good hands that day with them.

seven & eight

2011-10-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

#7. Remember the "funny thing" about Josh?

His (unique) sense of humor?

And remember how the world was supposed to end in May?

Josh and his friends thought it would be funny to drive around

Salt Lake City in this van reminding people...

you know, that the "End was Nigh!"

___________________________________________________________________

#8. Josh likes to do things with a BANG!

Like blow up TV's in our backyard.

For the record, it IS really loud.

Loud enough to have the neighbors ask, "What the #&@* was that?"

To which we meekly reply, "a T.V. ..."

5....6...pick up sticks!

2011-10-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Well, not sticks but a few more stories of Josh.

#5. Josh, while at first appearing to be reserved and quiet,
is actually one of the funniest people we know.

His humor is quick and dry and sarcastic. Often we
are told from other people of his humorous ways.

He has a quick remark when you least expect it and
some fairly predictable remarks as well.

His humor is also apparent in any family picture session.

Think Zoolander.

#6. Josh is REALLY smart. I am not bragging, I am
proud. (I also sometimes want to kick his butt!) He
often tells us that the grades he makes (mostly "A's",
his GPA hovers around a 3.8 to 4.0 depending on the
AP and gifted classes he's taking during the current
semester.)...anyway, he often tells us these grades
are achieved with NO to LITTLE study (which is sadly true!)

I always reply "Just think how great it would be IF
you DID actually study." Although there is not much to
improve on.

It seemed to start in 1st grade with his fabulous
teacher Trish Saccamomo of Highland Park Elementary.

After "gifted" testing and placement that year, she
caught my arm in the hall to tell me she had never had
a 1st grader test so high. He was reading at AT LEAST
a 7th grade level. (Whatever that means, right?)

She even gave him special spelling words
to keep him challenged each week.

The first, and perhaps MOST memorable was:

Antidisestablishmentarianism.

Which of course he got right on the first try.

The weird thing about Josh's intelligence (to me) is

that is seems most people are more "left" or "right"

brained.

More mathematical and scientific, or more creative
and artsy.

This kid does it all. Plays the piano (mostly self
taught),artistic (again mostly self taught),
excels at essay writing in AP classes and yet
also aces AP science and math tests.

Does that make him BOTH brained? I must also
add that sadly, he got NONE of it from me! Maybe
it skips a generation? I personally think it is
one of the "gifts" he was blessed/born with.

I keep telling him he is destined to be something great

in this life if he only puts his MIND to it!

3 & 4

2011-10-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

the Infamous Red Nie Nie

3. Nie Nie*

*(Our "Nielson word" for blanket. I could do a

WHOLE POST on "Nielson words" we speak our own

language for some things! But Nie Nie always

has been, and always will be the word for blanket.

I have no CLUE how it ever started, it seems to always

have been in existence.)

All of our kids get a baby blanket when they

are born, usually from Grandma Regular (Kyle's mom).

However, Josh's Nie Nie was a store bought variety.

He carried it, lugged it, played with it, slept

with it, held it, snuggled it, sniffed it, was

with it 24/7 the first few years of his life.

He threw up on it, washed it, bathed with it, loved it.

It went EVERYWHERE with him. To church, to bed, to

the grocery store, everywhere.

At some point the only thing left of it was a bunch

of long strings loosely bound together by hope.

It still sits in a baggy in a drawer somewhere in

this house waiting to show his children.

Yes, even to mix & bake dress up goggles are necessary

4. Dress Ups

From year 1 until somewhere around year 6 (or so...)

Josh was constantly "dressed up". Whether his

garb was cowboy, superhero, football guy, Darth Vader,

Han Solo, Luke Skywalker (there were A LOT of Star

Wars guys in those years!) and so on.

He went on errands with me every day as someone other

than Josh...well, always.

One of his favorite "get ups" was his Dad's old Granite

High football helmet and any random superhero cape

that he happened to grab that day.

He wore that outfit EVERYWHERE! (And Nie Nie ALWAYS

came too!)

Now he insists on matching (which is a good thing)

and smelling good (doubly good!).

18 in 9

2011-10-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

The big guy, Josh, my 6'5" tall 17 year
old Senior turns 18 next Sunday.

Next Sunday.

He will officially be an adult, legal, he can vote,
he can move out if he wants to grown up not a kid
anymore kinda person.

My baby is turning 18. Eighteen.

Eight-freaking-teen!

HOW did that happen?

In his honor I wanted to celebrate the BIG DAY
with 18 memories in 9 days.

So, two a day if I've done my math right.

And believe me...that's asking a lot of this
very NON mathematical person. (I even had to
spell check "mathematical"...seriously how
lame am I?)

#1. When Josh was near Puddy's age (8 ish) he
played on a Jr Jazz team. One day they walked into
the local Lions Club to meet their match for the
day.

It JUST HAPPENED to be an ALL GIRLS team. But not
just any ALL GIRLS. Two of the girls happened to be
daughters of none other than Jeff Hornecek and John
Stockton (think "Utah Jazz" & "Karl Malone Years")

Yup, and the COACH of the girls was none other than
Jeff Hornecek.

Jeff Hornecek. Seriously, how cool is that?

Well, long story short, those girls WHUPPED our boys
good. And how!

I think everyone in attendance was a little star struck
and trying hard to look like we were NOT looking at
the superstar dad coach.

We were. Looking. A lot.

Which in the end did not bode well
for our team, and scoring, and overall game play.

After the game ended, the usual cheer was said for
the other team and Josh and his friend Davey Doane
were so mad that they were beat (and beat BAD by a
"buncha girls!") they refused to go over and shake
Jeff's hand. (Who was gracious enough to shake a lot
of kids, AND parents, hands that day.

#2. Watching Josh baptize Olivia in June. It was
sweet and an honor to have him use his priesthood
that way for the very first time on his little sister.

It is a memory that hopefully he, and Little O will
always treasure.

The imagine of them standing together in the baptismal
font will forever be imprinted on my mind.

It is a lovely image.

Stay tuned for 3 & 4 tomorrow.

a little kick of kung pao

2011-09-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

(picture taken 4 years ago)

Happy Birthday to my Lizzie girl.

12 years old today.

In our Chinese Smorgasbord of life,
she is the Kung Pao Chicken
that adds spice to our ham fried rice.

She is the child that continually makes
me stretch and grow inside of my mothers skin.

Giving me pause, pushing me to new limits.
Causing me to reflect inward.

She teaches me love and patience and I marvel
at her as she progresses through this, lifes
journey.

She has a great capacity to love and a heart
that excels in a gift to give. Of herself,
to others.

She is learning who SHE is.

Kind, nurturing, lover of friends and other people.

Smart, goal oriented, task finisher, project
starter, creator and creative (both), strong willed,
feisty, opinionated, thorough, studious.

Sewer, artist, dancer, teacher, friend.

Happy 12th my Lizzie girl. Thanks for adding
your Kung Pao kick to this house.

Love,
Mom

pumpkin cream cheese french toast

2011-09-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Buy a good loaf from Great Harvest (Cinna-burst works well!)

Slice it THICK.

Stuff bread with cream cheese mixture.

Dip in pumpkin batter.

Dip in crunchy topping.

Cook on griddle.

Watch warm cream cheese mixture ooze out of bread.

Yum.

Serve with bacon and grapes.

Top with caramel sauce.

Double Yum.

Devour.

Lick fingers.

Lick fork.

Lick plate for good measure.

Work out twice in one day to make up for calories eaten.

One can officially die and go to heaven now.

(And yes! There is not one thing healthy about the entire meal...except maybe
the grapes.)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast.

10 pound bag

2011-09-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

When Kyle came home from Costco with the industrial
sized bag of chocolate chips, I mocked him. I laughed.
I snorted.

Seriously people, it was TEN POUNDS of chips!!

I know I bake a lot, especially in the fall....
(3 Birthdays in a row here)
...but 10 POUNDS worth???

I'm pleased to say in less than a two week time period
we have used over half the bag.

In fact, I'm thinking of going back for another one.

Pumpkin chocolate chips cupcakes with cream cheese
frosting did us in.

TWO DOUBLE batches.

Yup, you read that right!

Thank you to the teenage boys who eat me out of house
and home!

Thank you teenage girls who are quickly catching up
with the boys!

Thank you for neighbors and friends with birthdays
who like to eat!

Thank you Costco for selling a TEN POUND bag of chips!

Thank you Kyle for throwing the bag in your cart!

Thank GOODNESS I love to bake!

woman of my word

2011-09-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Lest you think I am NOT a woman of my word!!

Wait for it...

Yup, it's my skull band aid!

The fact that I have NO make up on may be scarier than the band aid on my face!

EEK!

And truthfully, I did have to postpone my skull band aid wearing until Monday.

Fact: (in my best Dwight Schrute ("The Office" in case you live on Mars) voice)

I had Sharing Time on Sunday. I couldn't have the kids MORE interested in
ME than the lesson, right? right?

Fact: I had plenty of black to wear (sometimes I'm certain my wardrobe pallet
only contains blacks, grays and varies shades of "neutrals"....oh well, it works
for me) BUT I just couldn't come up with a great hair accessory to tie the whole
band aid look together for church.

So Monday the skull & I did our thing, together.

I must say that as of today I am band aid free, and am feeling a little lackluster in
terms of "facial accessories".

I mean seriously, how many times in your life do you GET TO wear a facial
accessory?

(Here hoping it's my LAST time! hee hee)

magic potion...by olivia

2011-09-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE ONE?

A) WATER

B) MY MOM'S PERFUME

C) FLOWER PETALS

D) DISH SOAP

AND WELL,

E) SOME MAGIC

CONCENTRATION

POURING AND MIXING

MORE POURING

SNIFFING IT

ONE LAST STIR

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

PUDDY'S MAGIC POTION!

flash

2011-09-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU SEE HER?

OR IS SHE TOOOOOO FASSSSTTTT?

scar face

2011-09-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

See THAT? (above)

It's something used when your foot/feet

get a pedicure. For the scraping

and removal of dead skin. It's a razor, give

or take technical terms. It SHAVES the

skin off. Layer by layer.

ONLY yesterday I got to have a similar

looking tool used on my face.

My nose to be exact.

I decided I'm going for maximum "scar-age"

on my body this year.

I figure, why not? I have not only met MY OWN

personal medical deductible, but the

FAMILY one as well.

Three cheers for thyroid surgery!

(hip hip hooray!)

Now my (thankfully benign) skin lesion

is missing from my nose.

Along with several layers of my skin.

It's awesome what a great dermatologist

can do with a razor!

I also get to wear a band aid across

my nose for the next 5 days to aid

in the healing process.

I am looking HOT!

My neighbor

said she has some SKULL band aids I can

borrow for church on Sunday. I will

look for my best black outfit to match

the skulls. And maybe a cross bone

hair accessory to boot.

whoever invented fall...they got it right!

2011-09-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

seriously, it is an assault on my senses.

in the past week i have smelled the smoke from a
fire in the canyon, something apple-y baking,
cinnamon mixed with pumpkin, both in candles and food
and warm bread smells in the air.

i have seen sunflowers bowing along the roads,
leaves changing from greens to reds and golds
and oranges on the mountains, and the air has picked up
that "autumn haze" as the afternoons get shorter.

i have felt a chill in the air in both mornings
and evenings, that dissipates with the heat of each new
day. i have had a cool breeze blow on my face
at night through open windows.

i have heard children's laughter and squeals as
they delight in outdoor play that is neither too
hot nor too cold. i have watched pig tailed
and pony tailed 8 year olds chase after soccer
balls on cool fall evenings. i have heard the
teeniest and tiniest of football players chanting
and running at practice, "we are the titans, the
mighty mighty titans!" (seriously the cutest thing
i think i have EVER seen! they played in helmets, no pads!)

whoever invented fall....man oh man HE rocked it!

(or is it WHOMever?) either way...

i live and breathe and die for this, my favorite of
ALL the seasons.

up the canyon

2011-09-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air. Even more so in the canyon.

Hot dogs, campfires, and burned mallows.

Sweatshirts, blankets, leaves turning.

Up Millcreek, with the ones I love.

hormones

2011-09-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Note to self: 3 girly daughters = a lot of hormones.

And hormones overflow, they leak, they spill,
they emote, they ooze, they simply exist in
the air in my home.

In large quantities.

Daily.

During these moments I need to remember the happy
times.

However much it FEELS LIKE, in these moments, that
there never were, never are and never will be
any happy times.

There are.

See? That picture is living proof that during
brief and fleeting moments together (together
being the key word)we DO STILL SMILE!

A wise mother of a friend recently told me.

"Oh yes! I remember when my girls were teenagers...
you have until they are about 18 until they love
you again."

Seriously?

Super.

Olivia is only 8....so let's do the math here.

3 girls, waiting until they each reach the age of 18--

Well, I have a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time to go.

Dear Lord, give me strength.
Amen.

the power of a smile

2011-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Josh, smiling...doesn't it just make you happy?

If you read my blog, you know I work out everyday
at a gym with mostly old(er) people.

Most of them are kind and happy and make me smile.

There is one lady though that really scares me.

She is a "tough customer."

I've seen her everyday now since January and she is
always intent on what she is doing, with a very
serious look on her face. Never a smile.

And that's fine. It is a serious job we're doing
there. And it involves lots of sweating and
concentration.

However, MOST of the other people I've "met" over
the past 9 months smile at me every morning.

I try and smile back. Morning and exercise are
possibly not my best combination, but I do try.

Well, the other day I was "running late" (which means
a few past my 8:30 on the dot arrival). If I don't
make it then, someone steals my elliptical and it
makes me grumpy. It's mine--don't they realize that?

Anyway, this lady who I usually see racing around the
track was actually passing me on the stairs.

I was starting my day, headed up the stairs.

She was finished, and heading down.

I looked up at her and smiled a hello.

And miracle of all miracles, SHE SMILED BACK.

The smile changed her whole face.

She wasn't scary anymore. In fact, she looked quite
nice. Like someone I would want to get to know.

The power of a smile is amazing.

It can break the ice, melt a heart, change the world.

And now, every day since then, we both pass each
other and smile.

It's powerful.

Take a minute and smile at someone this week you may
not normally smile at, it will make their day.

It may even make YOUR day too.

ready, set, school!!!

2011-08-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

It came! Whether we were ready or not...

it came!

School that is. We have kids on the

3, 6, 9, 12 plan this year.

If it were 2, 4, 6, 8 I could find

some fabulous rhyme ...however hard

I tried I couldn't come up with a

rhyme for 12.

How 'bout 3, 6, 9, 12--into a fabulous

school year we delve? (see what I

mean?!) Lame-o!

Every year, our neighborhood has its

annual "Back to School" breakfast.

Such a great tradition for all the

kids to get together and eat before

facing a new year.

Thanks Jensen's for a great way to

start the new year.

Happy 2011/2012 School year!

two.words.

2011-08-21T20:53:00.001-07:00

wanna make me cry?

it only takes two words....

senior & year.

put them all together and what do you get?

tears.

oh my! how did he grow up so fast?

school starts tomorrow.

#4

2011-08-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

I attended my 4th funeral today.

The 4th in 5 months. They are still very hard.

(And I am certain that exceeds the total
I have attended in my entire life to this point).

The funeral was for a dear sweet neighbor
that we called friend. For she was truly
a friend to all who knew her.

Sitting with another dear sweet (and very wise)
friend before the service started we spoke of life.

Mostly we spoke of sons who were growing older,
leaving, getting ready to leave, those who
were already gone.

I asked her how she did it. It feels so hard
approaching this milestone in my life.

It tugs (daily) at my heartstrings.
It brings tears to my eyes.

She (in the always wise ways) looked at me
and very sincerely stated, "Well, they were
never ours to begin with. We just borrow them
and help them on their way in life."

I thought (with a gulp), "Oh how have I never
realized this before?"

(or have I?)

The truth of what she said hit me hard.

They were never ours to begin with.

We have them on "loan" from above, we teach
them the best that we can, we send them on their
way into this world so that they can in turn
continue, and grow, and pass through their own
experiences.

Both good and bad.

The funeral was beautiful, a tribute to a life
well lived, a tribute to a soul who loved her
way through.

The advice I received was just as beautiful.

I hope that I can take it to heart.

note to self: look inside

2011-08-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I always seem to forget this lesson.

To look inward.

At myself.

At others.

I come from a religion that believes we are literally
children of God. That we existed as spirits before
we came to this earth. Created by a loving Father
in Heaven.

We are His sons and daughters, as well as the literal
sons and daughters of our earthly parents.

Little bits of heaven reside in each of us,
regardless of outward appearance,
making us beautiful.

Regardless of judgement to the contrary.

I wonder why we ALL seem to forget this sometimes.

Why we hurt,

or hate,

or judge.

Snap decisions made from outward appearances.

We ALL have quirks and frailties and differences.
These things make us unique and wonderful and,
well, different.

I just had a small reminder this week.

Judgement I made.

Judgement made against me.

And I thought (again) WHY? do we do this to other
people?

And ourselves.

I have found in my life that once I get to TRULY
know most people they are all good in some way
that I can love and embrace.

If I look hard enough, and sometimes you have to
look harder than others, but if you look hard
enough...you can see the gleam of heavenly soul
that resides in each of us. And when you find it,
that sliver of gold, it shines.

Only on rare occasion have I found someone who was
truly ugly INSIDE, behind the mask of beauty on
the outside.

And some people just forget, and work too hard on

the parts that don't really matter.

When we should ALL be working on
the parts that...Really. Matter.

I believe MOST people are just good, if we
give them a chance.

Sometimes we forget to give them a chance.

And that's too bad, the forgetting part.

My note to self this week is to remember.

Look inside.

That's the part that REALLY matters.

nielsons*love*family