Talking with Two

When anyone asks my daughter her name, the response they will mostlikely hear is - "My two!" (Meaning I'm two, of course she holds up three fingers normally while she says this.) It is cute and I've decided that I should just start calling her Two.

Today during mealtime I was talking with Two, while she was trying to convince me to turn on the TV and I was trying to get her to eat her dinner.

Actual conversation below:

Me: Are you nice?

Two: Yep. My nice.

Me: That's good. Are you obedient?

Two: Nope, My not. My nice.

Well at least she is honest ... and nice. :)

Side by Side

With joyful greetings, playful meetings, and mutual love a best friend comes in all shapes and sizes. Thank you for all of the friends in my life, you have made the world full of light, love, and life.

Wednesday French Inspiration

In Our Economic Turmoil Seriously Amber Lynae Presents:

HOW NOT TO STRETCH A BUCK!!

My husband loves to shop around. He is always looking for a bargain. Whether we are vacationing in France or living in Virginia, he wants the best deal in town. Personally, I think it is great that I've married a man who doesn't want to throw away his money. But as his aunt and I learned from letting him and his uncle book a hotel.... Frugality can go TOO far.

For the equivalent $40 we stayed at Premiere Classe. (Just in case the name is deceiving you, it wasn't first class.) The room was barely big enough to fit the double bed with the luggage shelf above it. And the bathroom (pictured above) was a pod of sorts small enough that you can shower, poop, and shave all at the same time with out moving an inch.

Overall, it was a laughing experience. The small size of the room really wasn't enough to rate Premiere Classe at the bottom of our list. The rooms which were non-smoking (in France??) definitely had been smoked in (there is a headache for me), some sort of mold looked to be growing over the door, and the two bath towels the provide were scaled down to fit the room and were more like hand towels.

Have you had any money saving experiences go awry?

If you have the time and inclination go over to Mormon Mommy Blog and nominate me for a spotlight blog, today is the last day for nominations.

My Little Secret

Everyday my little girl asks to go to the park. It is the joy of her day. We come home and blow bubbles. But you know what... it is the joy of mine too. I love to watch her having fun... but I LOVE to swing too. I love that sensation of free-falling when you get the swing going high enough that the chains get slack at the top. I love to hang up-side-down and look a the world from the bottom up. Go sing and blow some bubbles see if that doesn't make you laugh.

If you have the time and inclination go over to Mormon Mommy Blog and nominate me for a spotlight blog.

Reading and Writing

I was reading over at LDS Publisher and they are sponsoring a Summer Reading Thing 2009 reading challenge!

SRT 2009 is a low-pressure, easy challenge where you set your own goals for reading fiction by LDS authors.


This year's reading challenge starts in exactly one week. That gives you time to come up with a goal.

Click HERE for details.


My Reading list is short because I have many books on my reading shelf right now. Some of them textbooks, some of them enjoy books. But from the LDS Fiction genre I have two books at least to begin with.

1. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
2. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
3. My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

I hope you join and post your list. Get Ready, Get Set, READ!

My New Skinny Jeans

You know that comfortable pair of jeans or sweats (I'm not What not to Wear I don't judge). I'm certain you know the pair I'm talking about. The pair you pull out when you are bloated or having a fat day or week, or year ( Or two years you know however long). Well that pair the ones in my closet labeled my fat pants. What do you do when your fat pants don't button anymore. Do you pull out the rubber band and deny knowledge of any existence of fat pants. Oh come on you know the rubber band trick don't you? (If you don't then tough... j/k.) Well when your fat pants become your skinny pants you may be like me.

I am not sure how it happened. Other than the fact that every bit of chocolate that comes into my house is gone with in a week, and well there may have been some pizza, and french fries, and well an unending list of foods that have somehow contributed to my newly coined skinny jeans. Because calling them fats pants now that they fit so snugly just means something that I can not think about right now. Much like Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler. "I will not think of it now." (I just read Gone with the Wind great book. ) I will not think that if my fat pants are now my skinny jeans then I have ..... yeah not thinking about it.

But in my attempts of not thinking about it I recall, that after my little girl was born I dropped 25 of the 65 pounds I gained. I then carried around the remaining 40lbs for over a year before I lost another 20lbs through second hand Weight Watchers (this is when someone you know does weight watchers and you just use hand me down knowledge to do it too). Now my little princess is two and I have put on 35 pounds and am only short 15 so pounds short of full term pregnancy. Yeah let's not think about that. I try very poorly to occasionally exercise. But some how my once a week workout isn't working. LOL I just don't get it. Yeah! I know I have a lot of work to do. I'm going to have to rededicate myself to healthy living.

As I was walking to the park with my hubby and little girl, I decided that instead of admitting my own laziness, I will break out the maturnity clothes and use pregnancy as the reason for my weight gain. It would be a lie but hey I have been asked recently by some if I'm pregnant and by others when I plan on having more kids. (Don't you just love it.) I do want more kids but a baby can "weight" a person like me.... So is weight a reason for a baby to wait? What do you think? If your skinny pants, used to be your fat pants should you go for the matunity clothes for reals not the lie?

Wednesday French Inspiration

On the country roads between Clermont Ferrand and Marseilles we passed through various scenery. There were orchards, vineyards, small towns, mountains, ruins, bullet trains and river banks. Never ending beauty as we watched from the car. As we neared the top of another snow-capped summit, we pulled over in an effort to experience the beauty that had been passing us by.

It was so much fun to live in the surrounds instead of just viewing it. We had a snow fight, we made snow angels. I laughed and smiled. I know these are things I should be doing everyday; however, many times I feel more like I'm sitting in a car letting life pass by. While I do enjoy the beauty of life, I rarely feel the same thrill I felt as I got out of the car and sunk my boots into the snow. I do on occasion feel more than just a spectator in my own life. It is on those occasions that I remember how much I really enjoy living life.

What are some of the things that help you to smile, live, and laugh?

One To Do Down

I have wanted to make a dress for my girl for the longest time. Basically since I made my husbands Jack Sparrow costume for Halloween. But I haven't done anything until yesterday. I spent all day and accomplished what I think is a very lovely princess gown. It is now referred to by her as her Belle dress.

Picture of Hubby as Jack Below

In the fish bowl

Do you ever do things when you think no one is watching only to find out you have been catch in the act? Or Maybe you have had the opposite happen, you did something hoping that someone was watching only to find out no one saw your awesome accomplishment? Either situation pretty much stinks. But sometimes you get lucky... and today I got lucky. Someone noticed my blog. I got my first award. Although I think every time I see a new follow I feel the same excitement as well. So I was especially excited to get the award from Camryn blogging at Mean Mommy University because I didn't even know she had read any of my blog. You have to love it when you discover one of your undercover readers. So thank you for my Award



As a recipient, I have been asked to pass on the love to 15 other lovely blogs.

So in no particular order my nominations are:

The Real Merrianne
Crazyland
Bumps, Bruises, and lots of Kisses
The Beautiful Thrifty Life
Jenni James
Writing about Writing
Write Stuff
Suffering from Writer's Blog
The Black Rock
Bennett Family
Cam's Creations
The Coleman Family
$5 Dinners
Author Jenn Johansson
Mormon Mommy Writers

There you are, enjoy your award for having blogs that make me smile. Share the love.

Double Dare You to Resist

I have recently met through blogs an amazingly creative woman. Right now she is having an great give away. It is a chance to win a signed couple of The Double Dare book for Girls. So head on over. And browse around her blogs while you are there. You will enjoy yourself.

Wednesday French Inspiration

TODAY'S FRENCH INSPIRATION IS A TALE OF TOO MANY GOOD CHOICES.

There is beauty all around when there's pastries around. (What? Don't tell me you don't agree?)

On the corner from our Paris apartment, the air is filled with the mouthwatering smells drifting out from the boulangerie. I accompanied my husband into the heavenly-scented shop. My first french pastry shop. The atmosphere was so charming. I peruse the gallery the same as I would an art museum. Admiring the beauty of each handmade creation. .... Then it hits me... I have to choose. Oh but how can one choose. There were so many front running candidates to be devoured and only so many euros in my pocket. My new found heaven was mocking me. I wanted some of everything.... heck let's not hold back, I plain out wanted everything. With every breath I fell deeper under the spell the artisans had spun. My new atmosphere was overwhelming, and I was unprepared for the choice that I was asked to make. Uncertain if the uneasy feeling in my stomach was hunger or nerves, I glanced once again around the shop and the plethora of options. I did not want to be hasty.


Rest assured I made a choice that was great. When I was surrounded by so much good it is hard to choose bad. But I realized as I stood in that shop that sometimes the difficulty of a decision exists because none of your options are deplorable. If I had walked into a shop and had to chose between snails or a creme brulee, then I know what I would have in my to go box upon exiting. Unfortunately, most choices in life are not black and white. Sometimes it is left to us to decided from the good and stick to our decision.

Are you as indecisive as I am? How do you choose when none of your options are unappealing?

When It Rains It Pours...

.....and then the Sun shines, then it pours some more.

The weather has been CRAZY here recently. I just want to get some out doors things done, and my gardens planted, but the weather is different every 30 minutes. I did get to the park today, but I didn't get to do much else this week outside. I guess I should just go out in the rain. I will do my gardening tomorrow. I love that rain makes things grow. But you have to plant them first. LOL Please tell me there are other people struggling getting their garden in.

Wednesday French Inspiration

One of my favorite experiences from my trip was visiting Cassis. We drove up to the summit of Cap Canaille. The cliffs over look Cassis and the Mediterranean sea. As you stand there at the edge, there is no safety measures to keep you from swan diving or tripping to a sudden death ( well it would not be sudden the fall would take a while). But the beauty is overwhelming. As you look over the distant landscape you suddenly feel small, insignificant, and if you are my husband, slightly woozy. Or the view may fill you with inspiration, and hope. As you stand on top of the world, you just may feel the power of you. It may be that you may feel a little of both.

It made me think about the trials I have faced and will yet face in my life. The distance and height that is still yet to travel to achieve the dream. At times I definitely feel small and insignificant. But as I look back over how much I have already accomplished I am inspired to go further, and I feel the power I have within me to live my dreams.

Rise to the top of all your goals, when you look back just enjoy the view.

Maybe Tomorrow??

Let's go to the park? Let's blow bubbles? Let's dance? Let's ride the carousel? All simple requests. But who has time for simple things when there is laundry, dishes, gardening, cleaning, shopping, analyzing (how that got on in those places) ... REAL work. Maybe tomorrow after we get all of our chores done. But the chores are never done; therefore the fun is never had.

When was the last time you said YES to life? Yes to your dreams? Yes (this is a hard one...) to your child? I think sometimes we are so busy trying to shape life into what we think it is supposed to be that sometimes we forget to live it.

I think we all tend to have two types of to do lists:

1. The things we WANT to do
2. The things we NEED to do

As a child you only focus on the list 1. List 2 doesn't even cross our minds. But when we get to adulthood suddenly list 2 is all we can think about. Sometimes list 2 is so long that it paralizes our ability to accomplish anything. (aka - My house is so dirty/cluttered I'm going to hide in bed all day. staying in bed because of overload does not count as an item from list 1) List 1 that holds all our hopes and dreams gets ignored. And when we finally do take the time to work on our wants we spend the whole time feeling guilty for ignoring list 2.

Is this how things are supposed to be? Aren't we suppose to enjoy life? How can you enjoy life when you are worrying about other things?

I think instead of putting everything we want off until tomorrow... we should live today. Carpé Diem.

I type that post and think of how hedonistic it sounds. I am not suggesting we live carnal lives, but enjoy the lives we live by seizing our dreams and not crushing the dreams of those around us.

Her Timing is Quiet Unusual

I am nocturnal. Well, that is not true exactly. I just never get sleep, unless you count dozing off during cartoons in the morning. I just keep thinking of the Meet Virginia song when it says "She only drinks coffee at midnight when the moment is night right, her timing is quite unusual." Well I don't drink coffee, especially not at midnight. But this is the time of day when I feel motivated. I feel like I want to go exercise, and I can clean my house, and get all the things done that need to completed. Also, my creativity seems to peak in the wee small hours of the morning.

Now do not misinterpret what I typed. I do not normally do these things at midnight, because my logical side says that it is too silly to get up and exercise at 12:30 and I may wake the household by doing so. And doing the dishes at 12:30 is also not a good option especially since the dishwasher is loud enough to wake the people sleeping 3 blocks away. But truthfully in the middle of the night I really want to do these things. I think there is a number of reasons I feel this way.

1. I am realizing that another day has passed and I didn't do these things that I had really wanted to do and if I did them now then I would have more time to do things I wanted to do the next day.

2. The house is quiet, everyone else is taken care of, I can FINALLY focus on me and what I want.

3. I don't have a toddler throwing a tantrum while I poorly attempt to do push-up instead of sit and watch her have fun. (Because isn't that what a mom is supposed to do watch you do everything you want to do while she doesn't nothing she wants to do, because really mothers do not want to do anything but watch their kids all day. (Sorry little ranting I know.))

There is one other time of day when I feel this motivation it normally falls between 10-11 in the morning. Unfortunately, it is at this time of day that my daughter assumes she needs my undivided attention. I really need to get her a playmate. I've seriously learned that sometimes it is easier to watch two kids instead of one. Because they entertain each other that is until they start fighting. Then the headaches ensue and chaos becomes the new order. :)

Is midnight a bad time to exercise, clean, blog, write a book? What time of day are you productive? Does your motivation come at inappropriate times?