Another Travel Dream

Port Arthur, Tasmania

Do you see those beautiful trees, foggy clouds, and historical buildings?!  Someday when I visit Australia, I'm stopping by here!

(Photo courtesy of Martybugs' contribution to Wikipedia)

Gah!

Gah!  I just looked at my Baby Counter widget, and I only have 62 more days until my September 24th due date!!!

Does anyone have any advice for what I should be doing these last couple of months?  I feel so unprepared!

My first real digital page!

Help!

I need a good, efficient pet hair removal device for furniture.  Lint rollers work well, but I seem to go through a lot of them with the amount of fur Willow is currently shedding.  Any ideas?

Leftover Pictures

Derek and our new Cornhole game

The most heavenly snack I've had in a long time!

Raspberries and chocolate chips.  Yum!

Rachel's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Morning!

Okay, so it hasn't been quite that bad, but it is now only 10:17 in the morning, and I got up at 9:30!

So here's how it went...

I woke up this morning hearing my dad in the kitchen.  I wondered what time it was because lately I've been waking up just before my alarm goes off.  So I looked at my alarm clock and it was blinking 2:11!  Still thinking it might be around 8:30 or so, I looked at the wall clock we have hanging in our room.  It said 9:30.  Ahh!  I'm supposed to be up, dressed, and available to help my mom at 9:00!  So I jumped out of bed and headed towards the shower.

When I got to the bathroom, I noticed a HUGE puddle of cat urine.  My cat's urine.  My perfectly behaved cats urine!  And the worst part was it was surrounding the littler box!  Not in it, all the way around it!  Why?!  WHY?!  But then I looked in the box, and it was in need of a change, so I kicked myself.  By changing the box yesterday, I could have avoided the mess!  So once I got the mess under control, I took my shower and got dressed and ready.

Then I went to get some gloves and a trash bag to do the real dirty work.  It's not too bad cleaning the littler box.  We use Feline Pine so the solid waste is flushable, but there is something rather disgusting about dumping out a bunch of moist sawdust.  Especially when it flies in your face!

And I needed some assistance.  With all the pee locked in the sawdust, the litter box becomes at least twice as heavy as when it's clean, so I needed my dad to dump the box while I held the bag.  I walked over to his office (home office, it's literally just 10 steps away from everything in the house), and just as I was about to say, "Dad, would you help me for a minute..."  I noticed a little pile of kitten puke on the floor, just inside the door.  Darn!  Well at least this little pile was easy to clean up this time. 

He came and helped me (THANKS DAD!!!), and once I got the box rinsed out, dried and refilled, I knew I needed to clean up the floor a little better.  So I put the rugs in the washing machine, got down on my hands and knees, and started cleaning the floor.  Once I got all that done and the box back in it's place, I breathed a sigh of relief and thought that I could just get on with the morning!

But that was not to be because all over the counter and the last homemade cherry turnover, were a bunch of sugar ants!  I quickly put the dish in the sink, and turned to get some paper towels.  But the paper towels weren't open yet and I had a little trouble getting the first sheet or two off.  I ended up tearing off a big chunk from one side.  Then I started pounding.  Then I noticed that they were under the rice cooker and mixer too.  So I got out the spray and sprayed them to smithereens!

And then I still had the dish with the turnover and all the ants to deal with.  So I took off the plastic wrap, wrapped it around the turnover, ran outside and threw it away in the big trash can.  Then I drowned the ants in hot water, washed the dish, and then put it in the dishwasher!

Then I ate a mini-muffin.  And I felt better! :D

Does this seem ridiculous to you, too?

I've heard about this "NYC flyover" (Foxnews.com) for the last couple of weeks.  It seemed a bit odd when the news first broke, but as more and more info comes out, it seems more and more fishy.  Now they're keeping the pictures "under wraps?!" (CBS News)

What do you think?

Wordles

Idaho Cheneys Wordle




A Wordle of foxnews.com's news today (click on the image to see it larger)




A Wordle of CNN.com's news today (click on the image to see it larger)




Have you done a wordle before?  They're fun!  Check out wordles here ...

Here it is, late at night, and I can't sleep!  I don't even remember the last time I felt like I couldn't sleep and actually got out of bed, came downstairs and got on the computer!  I thought I was tired, but guess not...

Another random thought.  My cat is so cute!  As I'm sitting here typing, she's standing up next to me and pawing my elbow.  It's like she's trying to get my attention or something! :)

Rachel is like...

Saw this on my friend Lara's blog.  I like these things.  I think they're funny!

1. Rachel is like a bit of wood!
2. Rachel is like Jon Stewart.
3. Rachel is like a whetstone to sharpen the mind.
4. Rachel is like the coolest celebrity out there.
5. Rachel is like nails down a chalk board for me.
6. Rachel is like my role model!
7. Rachel is like a volcano ready to explode.

My favorite is #3.  It sounds cool.

25 Random Things About Me

I got tagged by a bunch of people on facebook to do this list thing, and thought I'd kill two birds with one stone.

1.  I am a Geography freak!

2.  I tend to have big dreams about craft projects, start them totally unprepared, hurry through it, and then hate the end product.

3.  I was adopted as a baby and I love that about me!  It was probably one of the two best things that ever happened to me in my life!

4.  I really am married to my best friend.  Everybody says that, but I don't believe most of them.  My husband and I are a match made in heaven!

5.  I am a relatively recent cat lover convert.  I never really hated them, but it wasn't until I was married that I really found my love for them.  We've had 4 cats in our 5 years of marriage (no, we didn't kill them, it's a long story).

6.  I talk to my cat like she can really understand, and I think she does... usually.

7.  I do a lot of weird dances.  But only in front of my husband. 

8.  We lived in Korea for a year and a half.  Half loved it, half hated it while we were there.  Now I really REALLY miss it and would move back in a heart beat if everything was just right.

9.  I've tried to learn German, Japanese, and Korean, but haven't really made much progress in any of them.  But by trying to learn another language, I have a real appreciation for those who are bilingual and especially trilingual!

10.  I'm a picky reader.  The books have to have substance.  I am NOT a fan of Twilight, and love books like Anna Karenina.

11.  I'm a picky movie watcher.  They can't have any substance.  Serious movies don't hold my attention.  Unless they're documentaries

12.  I have all kinds of opinions on all kinds of current events.  Don't get me started on any of them.  Unless you're really interested.

13.  It's my dream someday to take a 'round the world trip via plane, train (Trans-siberian Railroad) and boat.  We almost did coming home from Korea, but it ended up being a little expensive and scary.

14.  I have only recently discovered my love for the X-Files and Alias.  I can't get enough of them now.  Good thing Derek likes them too.

15.  I love to play the piano, but I hate practicing.  Good thing I'm decent at sight reading.

16.  I love to do cross stitch, but hate displaying them.  I also don't like giving them away so I end up storing them.

17.  Digi scrapbooking is my new creative outlet.  If only I had the money to print the stuff!

18.  When I was a kid, I wanted to have green eyes and my name to be Epiphany.  I saw the word on a calendar and thought it was pretty.

19.  I have a fear of heights and open backed stairs.  But I'm getting over them.  I did a hike by myself in Korea that involved climbing over 100 open backed stairs and some crazy bridges bolted to the side of a cliff overlooking a stream.  Sounds crazier than it actually was, but it was pretty scary for me.  I had to sing Primary songs to myself to keep calm! :)

20.  I'm addicted to traveling now.  I've got probably a dozen trips planned in my head.

21.  If I could, I would get another two cats, but I can't afford another pet deposit, and three pets aren't allowed in our apartment complex.

22.  I will be an East Coaster forever.  I loved living in North Carolina!

23.  I own the cutest cat on the planet!

24.  Much to my husband's chagrin, I keep calling the clip on a gun "that little handle."  It makes sense to me.

25.  I always have a desire to spend time outside, but I'm really disappointed when I actually get out there.  I hate too much sun, wind, heat, cold, etc.  I'm definitely an indoors person!

A-Z all about Me!

Found this cool thing on another blog.  You can do it too if you want!

A - Amiable
B - Baking
C - Crazy about Derek
D - Daughter
E -  Eternal Marriage
F - Fun loving
G - Geography
H - History
I - Improving (trying to)
J - Julia Styles (my look-alike)
K - Kittens!
L - Learning
M - Making (messes, projects, food, etc.)
N - Nay, my maiden name
O - Optimistic
P - Planning
Q - Quotes (from movies, tv, and books)
R - Reading
S - Scrapbooking (digitally, PSE is my best friend)
T - Teacher
U - Unique
V - Valient
W - Wii fiend
X -Xnay on the upidstay (Did I spell that right?  I'm not 100% fluent in pig latin.)
Y - Yoga
Z - Zany

I Am Resolved!

It's taken me a while, but I think I'm finally ready to finalize what my goals for the year 2009 will be.  Making New Year's resolutions doesn't really work for me.  I'm all about starting new for a new year, but I feel like making resolutions just sets me up for failure.  I've tried in the past, and I didn't do half bad, but it felt a little forced because I felt like I had to make the resolution on January 1st and that I had to keep it, or I'd be a loser! ;)

So this year, I'm doing it a little different.  Who says you have to start at the very beginning anyways?  Finalizing my plans at the end of the January has given me time to really think about stuff.  I don't really have time to think about anything from approximately December 24th-January 11th because of Christmas, three birthdays and a wedding (this year)!  And I'm not making any specific promises to myself that I have to keep the entire year.  Most of my goals are very general, but will inspire me to make good choices to better myself.

And here they are (not in any particular order)...

1. Become a photographer:  This doesn't mean that I have to get a job taking photos, or that I have to spend money to take a class.  All it means is that I'm going to make it a priority in my life to spend some time getting to know my camera and learn to take better pictures.  And I'm going to be my only judge.  Well, I'll let my husband have a say... but ultimately, if I'm happy with it then it's good!  I'm excited to take my new camera on it's first scenic road trip to some national parks soon!

2. Take better care of my body:  Now I'm not saying that I abuse my body in any way.  I'm pretty careful about most of the Word of Wisdom stuff.  I've never smoked, drank (coffee, tea or alcohol), or done drugs.  But I don't exercise all that much.  Actually I exercise none.  And I don't always eat very well.  Not too long ago, I heard someone say that we would all be held accountable for how we took care of our bodies.  And that worried me.  The scriptures teach us that our bodies are a temple and that they are a gift from God.  I'm not abusing mine, but I could definitely show more appreciation for the amazing gift I received from my Heavenly Father.  I'm going to make it a priority to show appreciation in any of the following ways, getting more exercise--getting off my lazy butt and walking to my parents' house, stretching in the mornings, doing aerobics while watching tv (well... maybe not the last one. It sounds too dorky)--choosing fewer and healthier snacks, and going to bed earlier!

3.  Increase my gospel knowledge:  I've always had a hard time with scripture study.  For some reason it's been laborious and painful, and I never got much out of it.  And these feelings transferred to any other religious book.  But then I actually began to read a religious book.  You know, the kind where the author quotes a scripture selection every other paragraph, and I realized that that was the kind of scripture study that I could get into!  I like to go and look up the quoted scriptures and read around the verses included in the book.  It's a lot more fun for me, and I get a lot more out of it.  Right now I'm reading The Infinite Atonement.  It's slow going because there's lots to digest, but I'm really loving it!

Another thing that I already started doing that I think will benefit me is my "Book of Mormon Mondays."  This forces--or rather, inspires--me to read out of the Book of Mormon more often (lately it's been daily with my husband) so that I can have something prepared to blog about each week.  Sort of a lame reason to read, but hey, whatever works, right?  And it's fun!  I really enjoy it!  So I'm going to make it a priority in my life to find more of these enjoyable ways for me to learn more about the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ!

4.  Improve my relationship with my husband:  Now again, I'm not saying that I have a bad relationship with Derek.  It's actually really good, and has improved drastically!  But, as my dad always says, there's always room for improvement!  Most of my troubles come from control issues.  I'm a bit of a control freak and a worrier, and that's a toxic combination.  Lately, I've been trying harder to really think about whether I'm "nagging" him about something rather than "discussing" it with him.  And if what I think is important to talk about really is all that important to talk about.  I think it's been working better because both he and I seem happier.  I'm also trying to speak his love language more fluently and not be so bossy!

5.  Become a historian:  I'm a geographer, and a big part of geography is history!  For this one, I'm going to try to make a specific goal.  Each month, I want to become a (well rounded) historian by reading one historical book each month.  It could be a biography, memoir, a novel based on an actual event, a textbook type of book--believe it or not, I actually enjoy reading history textbooks--or even a book written by someone during that time period (think Chaucer or Uncle Tom's Cabin).  I'm not that particular on the where the history took place.  I love it all!  And I guess if I run short on time, I could watch a good, historical movie about a real event in history.  But that's risky.  I'll have to be picky with that because some could call the movie Titanic historical.  Barf.

Here's my "syllabus."  And I'm not planning on sticking to it religiously.  It's just a possible outline for my course of study.

• January - Africa
• February - The Middle East (not including Israel and Palestine)
  
• March - Russia
  
• April - China
  
• May - Japan
  
• June - Korea
  
• July - South East Asia
  
• August - Polynesia
  
• September - North or South Pole
  
• October - Israel and Palestine
  
• November - Central/South America
  
• December - Europe
  

I won an award!

Hooray!  Rachel over at Green-Eyed Girl awarded this fabulous award (Sorry, Rachel the wrestler woman grossed me out, so I found the original award)!

So the rules for this award are to list my 5 fabulous addictions,

1. Blogging
2. Photoshop/Photography/Digital Scrapbooking
3. Alias (For right now, before it was X-Files. Next who knows what it will be!)
4. Learning new things (last year it was becoming a better writer, this year a better photographer)
5. Piano

award the prize to 5 of my favorite bloggers,

1. Hannah, at The Hamilton Family
2. Caroline, at Our Ridiculously Interesting Lives...No, Seriously!
3. Jodi, at Reeve Chronicles
4. Lara, at Overstuffed
5. Kristi, at Jeff Kristi & Gunnar

and include the rules and regulations!

1. Pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. List 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. Copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Rules and Instructions:

Upon receipt of this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog. So there you go!

 

There are so many great bloggers that I read!  It was so hard to choose just five!  Sorry to anyone else who feels slighted.

It's here!!!!

I ordered my book on the 5th, and it came today, the 8th!  I LOVE IT!

 

 

Creature Comforts

Have you seen Creature Comforts?  They're pretty funny.  Made by the same guy who does Wallace and Grommit.  Here's a clip.  It's for a British commertial, but it's still funny!



My favorite is the horse that falls over.  What's your favorite part?

And the winner is.......

Untypically Jia from Modern Molly Mormon!  Congratulations!  Just get me your mailing address and we'll get this ball rolling!

I think you have my e-mail right?  I'll send you one just in case...

And thank you everyone for participating!  Your feedback was wonderful!  It was great fun wasn't it?  I'll have to do it again.  Maybe next month?  If any of you know of anyone who is interested in partnering with me for my next give-away, just let me know!

Feline Pine

Can I give a shout out to Feline Pine?  I love the stuff!  Derek and I have tried multiple kinds of kitty litter with our cats that we've had over the years and hadn't found one we loved or even liked.  Feline Pine is the best!  No stink!  Ever!  Unless you leave the litterbox unchanged for 2 weeks like I did last time...

And yes, this is another chance to enter the SV.Soap give-away!

I jumped on the bandwagon

Here's another post to enter my give-away with!

I saw this on a yet another friend's blog and decided to do it too!.

To participate, just copy and paste the list in your own blog, and color all of the things YOU have done - use any color you want. Things you haven't done will be in black. Have fun and if you have your own blog you might want to post your results there for the rest of us to see.

I HAVE...
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain(shower)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (sort of, it wasn't my fault)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Alternative to bows and gift tags

I have always been against those sticky bows and gift tags on Christmas gifts.  Or any other kind of gift.  They make them hard to stack.  And since bows are technically reusable (they don't get ruined easily with one wrapping like wrapping paper), you feel obligated to save them so you can use them again.  But the next time you go to get one out, they're always a little mussed up!

So, my solution that I've come up with the last couple of years is to use a permanent marker to write the "too" and "from" directly on the wrapping paper.  I've found it doesn't look half bad!  And if you can do block lettering or something, it even adds to the wrapping paper!