finish it up friday!

today i am linking up with crazy mom quilts for finish it up friday. can i tell you how much i love fridays when she's having her link party? it gives me the motivation to complete projects i've been sitting on for months! 

here is my latest finish, which was completed last night at 11:45. this is a lap quilt. it measures 48" * 64" and it's made from 16 patch blocks. each tiny square measures 2" finished and i love it so much. all of the colored squares have tiny little stars on them and i bought them as a set from connecting threads. 

i had plans to give this quilt away and last night i was asked by one of my kids who i was going to give it to. i told them i hadn't decided yet and they requested i give it to them.  so it's staying here. when you have over 30 blankets, what's another one, right?

awkward and awesome

awkward:

• i may or may not have listened to the automated message from the orthodontist for 5 minutes so i could speak like the computer.

 hello. 

this is dr. moss's office. 

we have matthew scheduled for an appointment tomorrow at 9:20. 

this message will repeat. [beep]

• the following conversation - matthew: mom, have you seen a 2012 penny yet? me: yes. matthew: what does it look like?
• my fabric stash has grown by about 40 yards in the last two weeks. i am sick. i need an intervention.

awesome:

• i have completed 2 quilt tops this week and i have two more close to completion. unfortunately there is an awkward side of this awesomeness.  i have 7 quilt tops that need finished.
• this week has gone by quickly.
• matthew and i have been doing science projects all week. we've created small explotions and he built battery operated toy from scratch that works!
• 6 1/2 inch 36 patch quilt blocks. i have 10 so far.  i only need about 300 more to make something pretty.
• i've been working for 1 year this week and i really love the work i do. it's so rewarding.
• matthew should be getting his braces off in less than 2 months and we only have 1 more payment to make. his smile will be worth over $8,000 dollars.  

have a great day! 

good idea - bad idea

good idea: writing the primary program and interviewing all the children to make it more personalized.
bad idea: leaving the interview notes at the church after choir.
consequence: new interviews were held yesterday. it's going to be an awesome program!

good idea: making cookie dough and baking cookies
better idea: just eating the cookie dough.

good idea: check out books from the library.
bad idea: returning them late and paying a fee.
better idea: check them out electronically for your book or kindle or kindle app. they automatically take the books back 3 weeks later and you never have a fee.

good idea: going to college.
consequence: $267.00 for two text books this quarter.

feliz martes!

this and that...

• i spoke to my  cousin, kasey, on the phone the other day. it was the first time in easily 10 years. she sounds just like her mom.
• recent quote of the day: 'i accidentally kneed myself in the head!' matthew
• another recent quote of the day. 'why do you like that guy?' [matthew, speaking to me, referring this his father.]
• i'm ready to put up my christmas tree. i am listening to christmas music and watching elf instead. 
• listen to the song below to hear one of our family favorite songs from my childhood. when i listen to this song, i am upstairs in the house on camelia in meridian, dancing while the record plays on the giant stereo. i actually feel a little choked up, thinking about it. here is the link, in case you are reading this post by email.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOL0LyCloso

• i have started sewing again. i'm working on 4 quilts right now and a christmas project. the quilts are awesome, my project is super exciting and i have to say again that i love love love my new sewing machine that i've had for almost a year. i should throw him a party. and give him a better name than mr. bernina. i think roger.
• another quote of the day. 'mom! look! i'm growing teeth!' anna
• i think that's it! 

merry monday!

ps, memory monday is coming back next week.  i've already started writing it.

what i used to think.

when i was little, i used to think:

• dogs are boys, cats are girls.
• all red sports cars were bad guys who wanted to kill us. (thank you, hardcastle and mccormick and garen)
• peach dragon was my favorite movie. (not pete's dragon.)
• i had a visual in my head of what it meant to 'fire' someone. it involved severe bodily harm. i also thought before those people were fired, they were handed literal pink slips of paper. (i wonder if there were targets on them.)
• my favorite sandwich was a girl cheese. (grilled cheese)

when gina was little:

• gina came home from church one day and told us she learned the first article of faith. 'we believe in god, the turtle father...' we believe in god, the eternal father, in his son, jesus christ, and in the holy ghost.'  someone watched too much teenage mutant ninja turtles.

Source: lds.net via Pam on Pinterest

idaho or bust

the boise temple is going to be reopening. there is an open house scheduled for next month. our family and my dad will going to idaho in october to trash my brother's house with awesomeness, eat all his food, start a grease fire and we'll be visiting the temple too.  the boise temple is the first temple i ever went inside. it was for the first open house. ryan told me we were finally going to be sealed that day. he's a liar. we also had family pictures taken that day at olan mills. do you remember that place? i just googled it. apparently, it's still open. in seattle.

edited to say: my parents were married in the idaho falls temple. we were all born in the covenant.

it has started

one of my favorite parts about getting together with my extended family [my brothers, sisters and dad + their families] is when we talk about all the rotten things we did as kids. the statute of limitations has passed and we now know if we admit our transgressions to our dad, we will not be getting in trouble. he too will laugh about our acts of sheer genius.

yesterday it started in our home. matthew told me something he did a long time ago. i know it would have upset me at the time it happened, but i laughed quietly to myself as he shared it with me.

this story would be better if i could tell you what he did, but i'm getting old now and i can't remember. it's been over 12 hours and i didn't write it down. sometimes if i focus for a few minutes i can remember, but this time i'm really stumped.

i guess more than one thing has started in our home. apparently, i'm losing my mind as well.

awkward and awesome

awkward:

• confusing the words condensation and condescension.
• the realization that i am not as cool as my kids once thought i was. yeah, anna still thinks i'm funny.  the big kids...not so much.
• gina. every. day.

awesome:

• we got two new sets of questions for our favorite game, loaded questions.
• home school is going well so far. [i fear by typing this, it will be a jinx.]
• i made 6 crock pots full of food yesterday and taught a lesson on crock pot cooking to the relief society last night.
• today we are having left over crock pot food.
• nicole. last night we needed a babysitter for the nursery so i called her. she was at the church less than 15 minutes later and helped out without ever complaining. [if i was her age, i would have complained. a lot.]
• ensign ranch is in 120 days. this week we have discussed menus and our annual talent show.
• this song. it's one of my new favorites.

first day of school

school started yesterday. because i am such an awesome mom, i didn't take one picture. judge me if you will. i only ever had one picture taken of me on the first day of school. kindergarten.

nicole got up at 4 am, was ready for school by 5 am and told ken she was ready to go at 5:30 for seminary. ken stalled long enough that they didn't get to the church on 5:45. she got home at 2:20, we filled out and signed papers and then she fell asleep on the couch at 7, and went to bed for the night at 7:30. she's a freshman this year.

matthew got up at 7, made breakfast for him and anna and then tried to wear the clothes he slept in to school. he is being homeschooled for his core classed this year, but goes to school from 9:05 to 11:45 each day for electives. i haven't said this in a while, but i love home schooling!! he's in 8th grade this year.

anna got up with nicole and ken told her to go back to bed. she was ready for school when i got home from work so all i had to do was fix her hair. i drove her to school and she was super excited to be able to eat lunch there. she's in 1st grade. (foast gwade.)