Natural Beauty Products

They may not need beauty products but my girls sure love to use the natural stuff anytime they can! I love to catch them at it!














Who knows? Maybe they have softer skin and hair because of it!!

Great Quote!

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

Douglas Adams

SFR

I finally got my SFR designation! I took a class and watched webinars and then I waited! And waited.

It turned out that the only half of the faxes made it through, so others had to wait. Well, I'm now certified to work on short sales and bank owned properties.

I hope I can help a lot of people with their problems!

Busy Spring

It's been so beautiful outside AND we're on Spring Break AT THE SAME TIME!!! It's amazing! We purposely didn't make any plans to go and do anything exciting! Life's been busy, so we just wanted a break together to hang out and get some things done as well! So far, it's been awesome!!

We've been getting work done, yard work, sewing, and lots of playing! It's great!

Moon

I was looking at my blog and I decided it needed more pictures. I found this one. I don't even remember taking it, but I thought it was beautiful. My neighbors probably thing I'm nuts since I can be found laying on the ground, pointing up in the sky and everything in between to get a good picture!

To Do Lists

I LOVE marking things off of my to-do lists! I love the feeling of having everything cleared away for the day. Then, I can relax! I just marked one off that I've been passing from list to list for a couple of months! It wasn't that big of a deal, I just had to make dental appointments for all of my family. I just kept not getting to it! It feels so good to get it done!!

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

How much better off would we all be if we always followed these simple instructions??

Definition of a Friend

"What is the definition of a friend? Friends are people who make it easier to live the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Robert D. Hales

General Conference

I am really enjoying the opportunity to be taught and blessed by listening to the general authorities and others at our Church's General Conference. I love this chance that we get every six months!!

The Basement

We bought our house with an unfinished basement. Well, it's still unfinished, but we're working on getting things organized, thrown away and cleaned up so that we can eventually move down there. Yesterday, Aaron and I spent a lot of time down there and made some significant progress. I wish I had before and after pictures because they'd be good. We really didn't plan to do all that we did, we were just in the mood to organize! Moving some things around let me see some more work that needs to be done. (Don't you love how that happens???) But, I'm still in that working mode, so I'm excited! Things will look better and be so much easier to manage.

Cleaning

I've really been in a "Spring Cleaning" mode in the last couple of days! I cleaned up what felt like a mountain of toys in the basement over two days (with helpers)and then today, I stacked and sorted a bunch of boxes in the basement to make things easier to get to as well as around. I'd really let it go to the point that we had to climb around stuff to get to other stuff. I also took most of the junk out of our hall closet and reorganized it. It's been a while, there, too!

There is still a long way to go before the whole house is orderly, but I feel accomplished after so many months of disorder creeping in!

Recovery

I'm feeling more human, today.

On Monday, I took an 8 hour class to get my SFR (short sales and foreclosure resource) certification. It was a VERY long time to stay in one place, but it was well worth it! I'm now part of a team that is all certified to do these! It will make my job so much easier and better! I'm glad for that.

My house is still a mess since I wasn't able to take care of things on Monday and then had my normal busy Tuesday.

So, today I'm happy that the class is over and that I can now get things back in order again!!

Running

Aaron and I are going to start running together tomorrow! I'm really excited! I started walking last week, but it will be so fun to do this as a couple! It'll be nice to spend the time together (which we rarely get, especially without kids around) and it will be great to motivate each other to be healthy. It will make it so much better since we both want it!

I need to get some shoes that will be better for my feet, but the super padded ones that the shoe companies have convinced us to wear will have to do for now...

Just a Mom

I'm not saying this like I'm merely a mom, but this week I got to mostly be only a mom. I didn't have to work very much and I got to be at home with my kids. It was nice. I actually don't work away from home very much, but I'm still not used to it, so a week where I got to catch up and feel like a mom again has been really nice! I hope I did enough to not hate my house on Tuesday because I start back strong on Monday, but I'm grateful for the time I get to spend at home!

A Great Friend

I got a text from my broker just after 8 this morning asking if I could go door knocking at 10. I knew we were talking about going, but we hadn't decided on a time, so this through me off and I needed a last-minute babysitter!! So, I took #1 to school and stopped at a friend's house to see if she could take my girls for me. She said yes, because she's awesome!

So, today, I'm grateful for her. She's my best friend (other than Aaron) and she is amazing!

She even told me I could depend on her at the last minute if (when!) I need her in the future! I hope she meant it...

How Many Times...

...do I have to learn things before they stick?

When we were trying to sell our last home, I had to keep it clean in case we had a last minute showing. Well, I learned that is was MUCH easier to keep clean if I just maintained rather than let things go and then spend all of the time catching back up. It so much easier and less daunting to clean a little in each area of my house rather than spending hours catching up on dusting, laundry, dishes clutter and everything else.

The problem is that I have a tendency to let areas go and then I have to spend lots of time getting it back into shape. Every time I keep it up, I remember how nice it is.

I'm in a maintenance cycle at the moment...

Sunburned

Well, I'm not excited by the itchy and slightly sore skin, but I am loving that the weather has been nice enough to be outside long enough for me to get sunburned! I have been walking, playing, talking and working in my yard! It is heavenly! I love the sunshine. It's good for my whole attitude about life!

(And I did wear sunscreen on my face--only--today. I hate sunscreen, but I don't like the idea of skin cancer.....)

Walking

I've been wanting to get outside and have fun as well as exercise for a while, now. It is finally (hopefully permanently) warm enough to do so and I just talked to a neighbor about walking together. We are going to start walking tomorrow and we're going to do it everyday. We found a time that we can always go and everything!

I'm really excited! Having someone to go with will make is SO much easier to do.

Healthy body, here I come!!

Ten Years

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since we got married for time and all eternity! It's also hard to remember what it was like to not be married. I have been truly blessed to have found Aaron! He is an amazing husband and father! He's also my best friend.

We have been through a lot and have learned from each other and the Lord to be stronger and more able to take on challenges together!

I'm so glad to be happily married after ten years!


(If you're interested, and you weren't reading my blog 3 years ago, here's the link to our story, so I don't have to write it out again. How lazy is that?)

Dinner Plate Dahlias!!!!!

I have been wanting dinner plate dahlias for several years. Now that I have a yard where I can grow them, I actually found some!!! I am so excited! They are yellow and should be gorgeous! I wish I could go put them in the ground, but it could kill them, so I'll have to wait. (It's also snowing and cold outside.)

Aaron thinks I'm funny because I'll have to dig them up and replant them every year to keep them from getting frozen, but I think it's totally worth it to have flowers as big as your head!!! I'll post pictures when there is more to see than tubers!

Self Worth

I was able to get a great friend to come and speak at my ward's Relief Society birthday. She was amazing! She spoke about knowing who we are: Daughter's of God. We need to TRULY know that in every fiber of our bodies! When we know that, the fads and disappointments will fall away and not damage our self worth. She also emphasized that we each have to accept ourselves. We may not like, in fact we probably won't like some things about our lives and our bodies, but we need to accept that we are imperfect and move upward from there!

Satan wants us to hate our bodies as much as he does, so he does everything in his power to convince us that we are not good enough. It just isn't true!

So, I'm going to strive each day to not treat myself as if I was inferior to anyone. I want to be the best that I can be and let everything else go!

If only that were a simple feat!

Spring is (almost) here!

The sun is shining, and even though it's cold, I know that Spring is coming. My plants are coming to life and the thought that they are just about to bloom makes me really happy, today.

Come to think of it, what am I still doing inside on the computer when it is such a beautiful day out there???

Coloring

I just colored a page in a coloring book at the table with my 4 year old. We talked and it was awesome! I need to take more simple opportunities to just sit and do little things like that with my kids! They are only going to be little for so long...

Potty Training

I'm not sure why this makes me happy today, but it does! My 19 month old is becoming aware of her...functions. I think I'm ready to start potty training for the last time. I'm not excited for the actual process, but the thought that I never have to change diapers on a regular basis again, is REALLY exciting!!!

She is also being incredibly cute while she carries her singing puppy around and dances along to the music it is playing! She is so easy to love!!

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

Not that I need it, but I found peppermint stick ice cream the other day and it was on sale! Usually, I can only find it at Christmas time, so it was awesome to be able to find it in March!!! It's my favorite!

Thinking Ahead

Last night, while I was in the kitchen making dinner anyway, I decided to assemble a breakfast casserole so that we could have a nice breakfast. It was SO nice to wake up and just have to put it in the oven. I love cooking, but breakfast can get really boring. There's only so many waffles and pancakes you can eat before you'd rather just not eat. And then you're just hungry. So I'm always on the lookout for great breakfast recipes.

So, my happy thought for today is just that I loved being able to pop breakfast in the oven and get back in bed while it cooked! It's little but that's what this whole mission is all about!

Quotes

I've been keeping these quotes on sticky notes on my desktop. (Can I just say how much I love my digital sticky notes!!!) Anyway, here are some quotes that I love and make me smile or think deeply, lately:

There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it behooves all of us not to talk about the rest of us. Robert Louis Stevenson

It only seems like others have it all figured out; that their challenges are simpler, their friends are jollier, and their grass is greener. But, you should hear how they admire you!

We cannot solve problems at the same level at which we created them.
Albert Einstein

Mondays

I used to hate Mondays! We spend a lot of the weekend either cleaning, catching up on things we need to do, getting ready for church responsibilities or (my favorite) a whole lot of nothing as a family! Monday, then becomes a huge clean up day and is just awful.

But, since we got a dishwasher (which my 4 yr old decided should be part of the family and I'm not so sure she's completely wrong) Mondays haven't been so bad. Sure, there's a pile of laundry and the floors are strewn with toys, but it's so much easier to have machines to help with the work!

I was looking at my calendar and I decided that I really like Mondays, now. I don't have scheduled work stuff to do. No meetings. No appointments. Just a day! I like that.

My husband has to work in the evening, so it's crummy in the evening, but the day, is MINE and I like it!

Mission To Be Happy

I've been a Michael McLean fan for many years! I love to hear his music. He's funny and a very talented storyteller. I love to stand at the piano while Aaron plays and we both sing, especially Michael's music. It speaks to my heart.

Well, recently he wrote a handbook about his new mission, a mission he wants to share with everyone and hopes that they follow suit. It's called Mission to be Happy. It has a CD with music to go along with each chapter. Some of the songs are silly and I think that makes the topics easier to deal with, but some are amazing and touch my heart.

So, why am I posting about this? Well, I'm going to try to post about my reasons to be happy. I usually don't have a problem with being happy, but I want to make this a place where I can write a quick note about the blessings in my life that make me happy. I've been really good about writing in my journal, lately and I'm going to keep that up, but I want this blog to be a place where I can share my gratitude with the world.

And if you're interested, Michael blogs about his daily mission of joy! He's hilarious and at the same time insightful.
Check it out: Mission to be Happy Blog.