so excited for:

daily insight

There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.
Jan Ashford

fun st. patty's day ideas...

Now that Valentine's Day is over...I can't help but get excited about the holiday around the corner...and the kids can't wait either!

So, I wanted to share a few fun ideas that I've come across...not sure if I'll even DO any of them...but hopefully at least one!

The first is this cute pot-o-gold...it could be a gift for a teacher, or just a fun decoration/treat for your own family to enjoy...(click HERE for the how-to)

Every year Jakob desperately wants to catch a leprechaun, and rigs up all sorts of traps with old boxes, string, sticks, etc...but to no avail.  I came across this cute idea, and thought this might work!  Plus it would be fun to have a trap that we can re-use every year... (cliek HERE for the how-to)

Who wouldn't like to taste a rainbow?  Wouldn't these cupcakes look cute topped with a gold candy coin, or better yet nestled in a black cauldron (bring out your halloween decorations!) filled with gold coins!?  Melissa...maybe you could whip up some of these puppies for one of your cupcake recipes to try out?

 

(click HERE for the recipe) 

Next, I am the first to declare that I am NOT crafty, however, I am CAPABLE and if I have the right tools and supplies, I can whip up some pretty cute things...  that being said, I think I just might HAVE to make at least one of these cute pins for myself...just because the phrase "wee lass" brings back fond memories of when I was living with my sister Sonya... (I'm not so wee!!!!!!!!!! --- inside joke!)

(Click HERE for the how-to)

Well that's it for now...but wait, one more picture...if I had a dog, I'd totally dress him up like this for St. Patty's Day!!!

Is that not the cutest dog costume you've ever seen?????  I LOVE IT!

p.s. I'd love to hear what fun ideas you have in store for St. Patty's Day, or any fun traditions that you do!

daily insight

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence.

Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear.

Perhaps the action you take will be successful;

Perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow.

But any action is better than no action at all.

Norman Vincent Peale

Eclipse Movie Trailer

No, just kidding...I don't have the trailer!  But I did find out that it will be one of the previews for the movie "Remember Me" starring Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin (aka Claire from LOST), due out March 12th. 

Here's the trailer for it (pause my playlist first!):


I think it actually looks like a pretty good story!

Can't wait for the Eclipse trailer!!!

An Infinite Measure of Love

"[God] loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our resumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God's love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked."What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us." Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 22–23

What Type Are You?

Spending seven years researching typefaces and personalities, twenty-three academics from Pentagram created What type are you?. A four question test that analyses your character and recommends what type is perfect for you.

Those of you who know me well, do you agree with this assessment?

what' you're doing matters

get out your kleenex for this one mommies! and for more info on mom 2.0 summit, click HERE. (please pause my playlist before viewing the video)

i like this little story...

 - from an email my dad sent me...

  A United States Marine was taking some college courses between assignments. He had completed 20 missions in Iraq and  Afghanistan . One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU.

  One day the professor shocked the class when he came in.  He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 min."

  The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God, I'm still waiting."

  It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.
 

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently...

The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. 

The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting American soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So He sent me."
 

The classroom erupted in cheers!

some of our valentine activities

I made over 100 of these yummy cookies for our RS night last week...and I must say, they turned out quite tasty, and cute! I got the recipe off of a blog I follow called Blue Cricket Design.  I used strawberry, vanilla and chocolate frosting...to please everyone's taste buds!  The recipe doesn't say how many cookies it will yield, but just as an FYI, I used about a 2 1/2 inch wide cookie cutter, and I did 2 batches of dough, which resulted in at least 9 or 10 dozen cookies.  And as you can see, they are THICK...so if you rolled the dough even thinner, you could get more cookies out of it.  However, I personally like the thick cake-like sugar cookies, so if they were thinner, it just wouldn't be the same!

Drew was eager to help eat up the remaining pink frosting...and I couldn't resist snapping a few pics of him in the process...i just can't get enough of this kid!!!

and last but definitely not least, jakob's valentines...i had fun trying to imitate an idea i saw on one of the forums i subscribe to...i think they turned out really cool! he said all of his friends loved them... not sure if i'll EVER top this one!

too much tv

if you're like me, you often create scenarios about people you see, random strangers...  i make up stories about them in my head...like if a really rude driver cuts me off, sometimes i wonder why they're having such a bad day?  is it cuz they didn't get enough sleep, no coffee yet?  or did someone they love die?  did they lose their job?  etc.  well today, while waiting to turn right at an intersection, there was a man pacing back and forth on the corner, talking on his cell phone...and it looked like he was looking for someone - a car maybe.  it got me thinking...is someone picking him up??  then i noticed a big leather bag on the curb...and assumed it must be his...but why did he just set it on the curb?  maybe it has a bomb in it.  that was my first thought...no, scratch that, it's not a bomb. 

then he got really upset, threw one of his hands up in the air, and hung up his phone.  at this point, he had turned and was walking right toward us...we made eye contact.  i could see he was very upset, not mad...but almost panicked.  he was kind of muttering to himself...he grabbed the bag, and i noticed it must be heavy by the way he threw it up on his shoulder...then he stood on his toes as if to help him see further down the road, and then quickly turned and crossed the street...when he got to the other side, he set the bag down, and again started pacing, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone...still looking all around, as if to find someone...and then his phone must have rang because he started talking and i could tell he was very upset... 

then we turned the corner and the man was out of sight...  but as i continued driving down the road, i started wondering about him...why was he so upset?  and WHAT was in that bag??? 

one word came to my mind:

RANSOM

then immediately my mind started whirling and images of a kidnapped child popped into my head, tied up and gagged somewhere in the back of a car, waiting to be rescued by the man with the bag, pacing on the corner.  

at that very moment, i had a realization.  

i watch too much t.v.

seriously.

no more csi.

no more criminal minds.

no more law & order.

no more.

Just What I Needed!

Need help organizing your time??   I do.  I found THIS ARTICLE  so helpful, and can't wait to put it into place!  The timing was perfect because I have the weekend to print it out and start scheduling next week.  So, if you have about 5-10 minutes to read it, believe me, it is worth it!

I would love to hear any ideas or methods that you use to organize/manage your time...  This is an area that I have always struggled with!!!

YW Virtue Walk

On Saturday I was able to help photograph our Stake YW Virtue Walk. It was an amazing experience, and one that I don't think those girls will ever forget.

They started off their morning collecting shoes for "Soles for Souls" to donate to Haiti...I'm sure there were more by the time we were done, but this is what I captured around 10am:

Then all the girls loaded up into cars and we drove over to the place where we would do a short hike/walk to a point overlooking the Newport Beach Temple.  I loved being with the girls!  It brought back so many fun memories of when I was in YW...

Each ward made their own virtue banner, and carried them the whole way...don't they look so happy??



When we finally made it to the top, Sister Christensen spoke to all the girls for a few minutes...

...and then they sang "I Love To See The Temple" while looking over at the Temple.



Then they all pledged their virtue to the Lord and unfurled their banners...

Then each group got together for group shots with their banners.  I am totally, TOTALLY bummed that I don't have a picture of my ward...don't know how that happened, but I am hoping and praying that someone else there got a group shot of them!  Here are the rest of the wards:











And the Stake YW Presidency:  Dara Draeger, Linda Diamond, Sharon Hinkson and Diane Christensen.

cute little critters

I've never paid much attention to Groundhog Day in the past...living in Southern California makes it so that it doesn't really matter if there are 6 more weeks of winter or not...  But, I came across THIS and thought it was so cute!  So here's my take on it...  Instead of making my own pudding, and freezing it, I opted for pudding cups.  Way faster.  And instead of using almonds for ears, i used pretzels...almonds are too expensive for such a little treat!  My boys loved them and they were really easy and fun to make!  Maybe this will be a new tradition!