Fun Photo Shoot

Halloween 2010

Awesome

Found a place to live!

Carrollton Texas!


Just a few min north of Dallas!


Yay!


10 min from work

20 from temple

5 min from church

4 min from QT (my FAVORITE d.coke spot...oh how I've missed you!)

10 min from Costco & Target


I just don't know what more I could need. :)


17 hours 11 min from Maricopa Arizona. Ack!!! Shoot. I was doing so good with the distances til that one! Gees!!

Moving the 3rd weekend in February. Fun stuff. On week 1 of my 10 week moving plan. A week behind cause the moving date changed on me. Cold sweats, bad dreams! lol. Life goes on! Super excited for the move!

Family Picture!

Thanks to my sweet mom for taking pictures for us! We were a terrible bunch to try to photograph...it was an adventure! Yes...I wanted to cry during and after out of frustration...but a perfect picture just isn't ever gunna happen. oh well...I still Love it!

at the door

So I hear that someone is at the door this morning at 10...its not to early for a knock and I am expecting a few Christmas orders to arrive later in the week...hmm.

I was in my jammies, kids in underwear and T-shirts ... just finished breakfast.

A huge pile of clothes I was sorting on my master bed, dishwasher running, and clean clothes in the laundry that looked like they were purposely thrown all over the place. really.

Things I had juuust finished this morning...kids' bedroom mess, clothes and crap picked up off master bedroom floor, hunted down dishes from the 100 rooms in our 2 bedroom place. And I had made a trash pile to take out (that stunk to high heaven) right by the front door.

you get the picture. It was clear that I was having a cleaning day I'm sure.

So the maintenance people came to change the filters, alarm batteries, and check the water heater. For efficiency they had 4 men. Umkay.

Yes, I did receive an email about this...No, I didn't remember.

I was horrified. Ugh. I apologized that they caught me on a major cleaning day after our wild weekend. They said no problem we'll be super quick. They were. I didn't even finish a text before they were gone. Thank goodness.

Horrific event over. I hate mondays.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy birthday to my big boy Jacob!

He's five now...crazy!

Five years ago---TODAY---right now----I had just arrived at the hospital to be induced. 12 hours later (and lots of fun fun labor :) Jacob arrived! My mom and Heath were the first to see handsome sweet Jacob. My brother Stephan brought me and Jacob our first meal and a mother son duo---chicken tacos from Del Taco! Thanks bother! ;D

***

This morning he was sooo excited to hear that it was his Birthday!!!

Today we have a fun schedule...playdate in the morning, Jacob preschool in the afternoon, and family party tonight! yay!

And the SUN decided to make an appearance today just for Jacob! Never mind that its still 23 degrees outside at 8am. Whatev...we'll take it!

Thanks so much for all the birthday cards and packages we've received...we feel so blessed to have such loving family that thinks about us OUTCASTS here in Colorado :)

Love you!!

On a sad note...the ONE gift that Jacob has been aking for the past 8 months...is MIA at the stores. Why didn't I just get it MONTHS AGO!? This morning that was the first thing he asked about. :( I purchased something like it...plus a couple other things to distract him...fingers crossed it works! lol. Birthday Fun!

Everydayfoodstorage.net

Everyday Food Storage

I love love love http://www.everydayfoodstorage.net/ Crystal, the blog author is so cute and practical about her cooking! Her philosophy is to use your food storage in your every day cooking to help you rotate and learn to cook from the basics!

I'm moving in a little over 3 months (ack!) so my new found love for food storage is getting put on hold as far as the BUYING and STORING is concerned. Boo!:(

BUT I've found other ways to work on my food storage.

1- Making a plan.

Find out how much of each item my family would need on the recommended 1-year supply list and estimate costs.
Make a list of 50 recipes that I want for my 3-month supply.

Make lists of other household items that I would like to stock up on...like TP, toothpaste, and Diet Coke of course. lol.

2- Practice cooking with "food storage" items.

This part is my favorite...practicing cooking!!!

So far I've learned to...

Bake bread, rolls, french bread , french rolls - the french breads are giving me some trouble. little buggars.

Creamed soups (u know, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of celery...) I didn't realize how many of those stinkin things we use until I started working on my 3 month supply list. Gees.

Instant Oatmeal Packets. One of my favorites! I'll post that recipe this week.

Cook with powdered milk.

I have sooo much more to learn.
Up next: Dry Beans

I totally recommend checking out http://www.everydayfoodstorage.net/ and getting some tips or maybe just some motivation!! She's DIE HARD and I'm not looking to be DIE HARD...just a little more self sufficient. I have to say...Its been really nice not running to the store for bread to make PB&J every week...or needing a can of Cream of Celery on a Sunday. Done with my speech. Hope you get a change to check out the website...it motivated me! :D

Font Website that I love!

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/freescrapbookfonts/

I have had a few friends asking me about the fonts on my handouts and signs for cub scouts and the relief society committee stuff I work on...so I thought I would also share this site with you!


The fonts are FREE and I totally trust this site cause I've been using it for over a year now. Luhve it!


She had a pretty good tutorial on how to download them and once you do one font...you'll be a professional! I love cute fonts!

Enjoy :)

Here's 2 of my favorites...the WISH I WERE TALLER is my "go to" font for almost everything. Labels around the house...scout stuff...gift tags....you name it!

Diagnosis Finally

Nothing life threatening...let me just add that so this post is LESS DRAMATIC!

First Urgent Care then sent to ER for tests. Drove myself to the ER (stupid) cause heath wasn't due to fly in for a few more hours. Chest X-rays, cat scan, blood tests, Oxygen (very helpful..felt like an old lady), Pain meds, and MORPHINE. Ugh...never getting Morphine again...my body clearly said...NO THANK YOU as soon as that entered my body. Scary. Will be getting a "NO MORPHINE" tattoo on the crease of my IV arms. Just before my cat scan my heath arrived. yay! :)

The cat scan was terrible cause I had to lay flat which was impossible for me. Its actually a silly story that sounds just like me... They asked me to lay down and I tried but my body just wouldn't let me...I shot right back up before I even knew it. I tried that 2 times and they very sweetly said, "you don't have to do this sweety if you can't" I was shaking and very emotional but couldn't cry cause crying, moving, breathing, talking, THINKING hurt so dang bad. Pain 1-10? Um...12. So my response to her, (I'm a dork) "I can do anything. I'll lay down if you promise this really only is 5 minutes. I'll make my body flat" I did it. Super woman! lol. Halfway thru...I heard her say..."Julie, your trembling...hold your breath". Seriously? haha. That's seriously on my top 5 hardest things I've done in my life. Dramatic...but I kid u not they were shocked I did it. I was shaking and tearful after cause the pain was worse than childbirth! haha...isn't every pain your experiencing right now "the worst". I dunno. It was traumatic.

The drive home from hospital was bitter-sweet...no diagnosis...but nothing seriously life threatening...except that I still felt like I couldn't breath and the pain made me want to die. But whatever...why was this so freaking painful?! I was praying for my babies to be in my arms soon.

Followed up with PCP today and her best guess after listening to the "grinding sound" in my lungs was Pleurisy....Inflammation in the lining of my lungs and chest that caused the smooth lining of my lungs to become rough and rub together causing pain. (understatement) When you google it...yuck. Don't google it...I swear your chest will start hurting too. lol. I don't think my "condition" was as bad as most...I cannot imagine anything worse. :( We're not sure what caused this pleurisy crap...since I didn't recently have an accident or injury. They ruled out pulmonary embolism, pericardis, pneumonia...They weren't super clear..but my blood tests also ruled out lots of stuff. There's still a lot of unknown scary possible causes that I'll be ignoring for now. So...I'll just assume I'll be a healthy mommy in a week. :)

For now...my sweet heath is being the maid, nanny daddy, chef, and my rock. He holds my hand til I can manage the pain enough to fall asleep. I'm so thankful for the love and support of my family and friends. My poor mom felt helpless from far away...but was there through all of it even when my (loving amazing) husband was out of town in the beginning of this fiasco! Boo! The hardest part was trying not to feel alone out here in BFE without family to help and Heath on a business trip. Thank mom for your support. Once home, heath didn't leave my side. :)

"I don't get sick" is my common phrase. After this incident I'd like to get back to that. T.H.A.N.K Y.O.U. very much.

ON a Happier Note...

I got my new Dough Conditioner in the mail yesterday and I'm ITCHING TO BAKE! It'll be a few more days till I'm feeling up to it...but I'm sooo super excited. yay.

ACK!

SALMON!!

We're so super excited over here!!!

Heath just came back from a work fishing trip (free:) with tons of salmon! 20 fillets! Yay :)
All of the trip...flight, food, lodging...was free. niiiice.
He paid to check the bag...with all the frozen fish...instead of carrying it on. And for 1 meal.
Thank you much Heath's job. :)
We sure missed him!! Glad my heath is back home!

If you have a favorite salmon recipe send it my way!

Tonight...

Lemon pepper & Parmesan Panko Crusted Salmon
Asparagus
California Wild Rice blend from Costco (so excited to try it!)

Halloween Cupcakes to decorate for FHE.
Lesson - The HOLY GHOST. (hmm...is that innapropriate?)

Wheat Bread that Works for Me!

Bonnie’s
Wheat Bread

Recipe By: Bonnie Session

Makes 3 Loaves

¼ cup warm water
2 T. yeast
½ t. sugar
Mix the above ingredients and let it set until bubbly then set aside.

3 cups warm water
½ vitamin C tablet, crushed (1000mg) OR 1 tablet 500mg crushed
½ T. Liquid Lecithin
5 cups white wheat flour
Mix in a large bowl and turn on kneader.

3/8 cups (3oz. OR ¼ cup + 2 T.) cooking oil
3/8 cups (3oz. OR ¼ cup + 2 T.) honey
1 T. salt
Add to the dough.


Add - 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture.
Add - 2-3 cups flour while mixer is kneading until right consistency.

Knead – for 10 minutes, then form loaves on an oiled board with oiled hands.

Rise – 1/3 in bulk.

Bake – 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.


My kiddos are willing to eat it! That's a miracle! I halved this recipe to fit in my Kitchen Aid...if you have a Bosch double it! :)

ALSO...I live at high elevation...so for all you down there you might need a cup or 2 less flour.

Practicing Jacob's part for the primary program tonight...fun stuff. Thank goodness it's only a one liner!

So during family prayer, Jacob's turn...he says...

"Dear Heavenly Father, My love for Jesus Christ grows when I pray. Thank you for Lexi. Bless daddy fishing....Amen"

Love it.

Yup...that was his part for the primary program....now I know FOR SURE that he knows it :)

Yummy Roll Recipe

I've been practicing roll and bread recipes over the past few weeks and I'm in heaven! My friend Marian B. came over to teach me this recipe and it was so much fun! Good luck...enjoy!

***ELEVATION WARNING!!! I live at HIGH elevation (6,000 ft) ...for those of you not in high elevation...you might need to reduce the flour by a cup or cup and a half for each recipe. Remember (cause this took me forever to learn:) the key to bread is the consistency. I'm sooo not an expert...just have made bread recipes like 20 times in the last 2 months. ;)

Rosie's Rolls

1/2 c. canola oil or shortening (I use the butter flavored shortening sticks)
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
1 c. hot water

1 1/2 tbsp. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs
1 c. cold water
7 1/2 c. flour (any combo of wheat and white)

Mix oil, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add the hot water. (I use a kitchen aid, hand mixer is totally fine for this recipe!)
Dissolve yeast in a separate bowl with the 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tbsp. sugar.
Add yeast mixture to large bowl; beat in 2 eggs.
Add the cold water and gradually fold in flour.
Mix until dough is smooth. (I only mix for a minute or 2 and leave it a little lumpy)
Let the dough rise until it is doubles (about 1 hour)
Punch it down and form into rolls on a cookie sheet. (I make crescents and get about 32 rolls)
Allow rolls to rise on (greased) cookie sheet approximately 1/2 hour.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. DO NOT OVER BAKE!
(Check by lifting one off the pan and looking at the bottom...lightly browned...done!)


When I finally get my hands on some dough enhancer I'm going to try my Aunt Shauna's B.E.L.O.V.E.D rolls....I miss the Kerr Family!!

flashback to October 2009

Look at her sitting so quietly...now she never stops!! She's getting so big.. :( my princess is growing up...she's almost 3! Crazy. But on a happy note...she still fits in that shirt so she can't be getting to old too fast!?

Fall Fun...and my NEW LOVE!

Just blogging about Colorado life cause I feel like it :) Wish y'all could visit!

I have a new love! I purchased new "buffet lamps" from Target purrrrrfect for my Buffet! I wanted to brighten up the dining area cause the little pot light in the ceiling was just not enough light! A chandelier would be divine...but I'm only here in CO for 17 or 18 more weeks. Yes, counting. What am I even bothering with decor? Because I move ALL THE TIME and if I never decorated...I would live in a sad WHITE HOLE of a home that I hate. :D So here's the pictures of our house FALLING INTO HALLOWEEN. fun stuff.

I guess I don't really have anything super spooky or leaves and pumpkins all over...just a little decor worked into the space. Works for me.

I'm not a super decorator...just kinda do what I like.

See that "Family" plaque thing? That took me 3 freakin hours to make at our ward craft night. The stand under it is from a thrift shop $.50 (saweet...got 2!)

The pumpkin is from Hobby Lobby (I love the black stem on the top!) and the stand is from goodwill for $1 that I spray painted black.



The large white plate is a pasta dish from a wedding gift :) and the other 2 plates are from my most fabulous friend Cari! The "BOO" is target clearance milk bottles and I added vinyl letters.

Banner on the patio door...to make up for my lack of curtains... :(



The spooky faces are kinda a border around the TV room. The kiddos love them. Since Jacob and Lexi are both in preschool they are coming home with all kinds of halloween/fall decor items...so I put some up with the banner on the patio door and the rest on the door to their room. They love to see all that stuff!


Dining room...with my fab new lights! The natural light coming in makes the lights look super duper orange...but honestly...they look good...swear! :)

See...they look better in this picture right?! And see the cute pics of my babies...awe...those frames actually ended up going on the shelf in my Heath's office.

So...thanks for taking a peak...that was fun right?! I want to see your decor too!! I need ideas for Thanksgiving!!

Best days of my life...

Why yes, I am having one of the best days of my life.

Thanks for asking. ;)

I love today. I can feel fall coming in through the windows. The air is crisp but not freezing cold. The sunlight is a pretty white through the shades. Yummy freshly made chocolate cookies (that actually turned out!!) are sitting on my counter. Laundry is almost done. (Is it ever actually done...no). I wont be discussing my master bedroom/bath for a reason. (lol). Kids' room is vacuumed and picked up for the first time in days! OK, maybe a week. Alright alright...2 weeks. I have cute simple Halloween decorations up in my tiny home and I love it! We're getting ready for preschool for Jacob and a playdate for Lexi. My kiddos stayed in bed long enough for me to finish my personal studies this morning. This am: Chapter 21 The Holy Ghost. Yes, I'm actually reading the lesson for next weeks' Relief Society before Sunday morning. (nope not the teacher...just like the Gospel Principals book :) FHE tonight is on the Godhead and I'm on the computer printing the 1st Article of Faith...but getting distracted by my blog...Back to the life that I love with the family that I adore.

j

6 years...

a little mushy :)

est. 2004

I love my heath and can't believe how fast 6 years has gone. I feel so blessed to have Heath in my life. Yesterday I texted him to say I wish he could come home and hold me because I needed it. He left work and was home within the hour. I am his princess and I feel so lucky to be treated as such. I feel like we're better friends today then ever before and i love him so much. We are so blessed to have our big boy Jacob and princess Lexi. They are the laughter in our house that keeps Heath young...cause I still am!! ;) We love to play paper airplanes with Jacob, read story after story to Lex, and run around the house like crazy people. Fun times over here! And what's on the agenda for our HOT DATE NIGHT?! Haha...we decided to have a family night of shopping and a restaurant! Funny funny. That's how we roll.

Love you heath.

pj

2010 School Pictures!

These are just scanned copies for the bloggie blog. Grandmas...real pictures coming in the mail soon! Love you and miss you!

Love this.

Cute picture from... http://www.theideadoor.net/ This is a centerpiece of a project I'm working on for one of my blank walls in my tiny home. Yes...I'm actually considering decoration a wall 4 months before I move. That's how I roll.

Moving Again!

Yes...we're off to a new work location yet again! We're very excited for this move and so happy! We looove looooove loooove it here in Denver Colorado...and seem to fall in love with everywhere that we live...but WE'RE OFF for new adventures! Well...not yet....February 2011...the usual time of our moves. 6 moves in 6 years...I think that we might be staying in Texas...no really! This move is a little different than most for lots of reasons so we're very hopeful for a permanent work location and buying a house!!!! Finally...no longer "temporary" yay! :) We'll get to know the area for a while...years?... (and make sure we're staying :) then look around for a place. fun stuff! I'm sooo used to being temporary that putting down roots and choosing a place I want to make a more permanent home might be really hard for me. Commitment?!!! Ack!

Here's our new temple :)

I got rid of soooo much stuff in our last move and EVEN MORE over the last 7 months and will get rid of EVEN MORE in the next 5 months preparing for the move...that I now have TONS of empty storage bins...I seriously think I might not need a single box...not a SINGLE BOX! That will be a first. We can get boxes left over from Heath's work...so getting them if needed won't be an issue...just in case. whew. Why do I get rid of so much? No for a smaller truck...not cause it's easier to move (that's heath's reason I'm sure :) ... but cause I loooove to BUY NEW STUFF for a new home! haha yay!!

We think we'll be in the Dallas area and we're looking at some cities just a few minutes north of Dallas near Lewisville, Plano, Carrollton ... not sure. There's sooo many choices and so many months to decide :) I'm looking forward to the winter here in Denver cause it might just be the one and only snowy winter we have...my kids will be D.E.V.A.S.T.A.T.E.D!! And I'll miss having an excuse to own a zillion scarves. :(

Updates as they come. :)

Yay!! TEXAS BARBECUE!!

Look at these cute home styles....LOVE THEM! And cheap living! Yay!

Does the gardener come with the home too? lol

yuck

So we keep a recycling bin outside on the porch. I brought it in to fill it then took it straight to the car, emptied the contents into the recycling on the other side of the property and went about the rest of my day. Took Jacob to preschool, lexi down for a nap, watched an episode of Lost, baked bread (yay...my newest love), cleaned the kitchen, folded some laundry, picked up Jacob...

Then when we got back from preschool pickup Jacob screamed cause he saw a big 'ol praying mantis IN THE KITCHEN!!!! What the heck!!!?? Lexi runs out of the room... I stay and I'm frantically looking for a tupperware or something to get this thing outside...yuck! I feel like I'm crawling with bugs on my skin. I step on a freaking wheat thin on the floor a FLIP OUT cause it crunches and everything...eeeewwwww.

Why do I have BUGS in my kitchen. Need I remind you my husband has been in the Pest Control business since like Forever...and a Praying Mantis...a Praying Mantis...IN MY HOME....IN MY KITCHEN....Really!?

I'm starting to speculate as to how, when, and why this CREATURE is in my kitchen then figured it had to be from the recycling bin from 3 and a half hours ago...I was cooking next to that creature. Ugh! GROSS!!!

Then out of the blue....our FEARLESS LEADER Princess Lexi comes out of the bathroom with a tissue and says, "Mom, I got this." (um, seriously?)

No, I didn't let my 2 year old handle this...we captured the little bugger and released it into the wild. whew. now off to make dinner and try not to have crawly skin the whole time.

ACK...while posting this Jacob came in freaking out cause he feels like something is crawling on his neck.

Dinner out tonight FOR SURE...Jambalaya was on the menu. Canceled

1st Day!

1st Day of Preschool

Jacob

1st Day of Mommy & Me Time

Lexi

Lexi Style!

My girl cracks me up. Sometimes I let her choose her outfits...gotta love her style. AND whenever I tell her to say cheese...she smiles big and closes her eyes. Cutie.

New (to us) Chairs!!!

Here's our dining Chairs! Yay! They were $2 each at the Thrift Store and $8 worth of cream fabric and clear plastic from Jo-Anns, $1 worth of stapes, (gun I already had :), fabric on the bottom was from an old sheet, spray paint $10, Total: $5 per chair! Can't beat that!

Before...the chairs were gold and gray...with a NASTY gray fabric seat. Yuck!

My sweet husband spray painted them and the kids and I covered them. Fun fun. 2 Chairs are covered in fabric and plastic...for messy hands.