Randomness and great ideas I've come across...

Hilarious magnet at my cousin, Sacie's house.  She collects hilarious magnets :)

Did these letters for Pippa, my niece, and painted the tree branches.  So fun.

This is the BEST idea since sliced bread!!!!

LOVE it when my flowers don't die on me!!!  (Now, this pic is from a little while back.  It looks a bit different right now...don't ask)

My friend, Natalie and I decided to purchase some herb plants and then share them.  She has the Rosemary and I have the Thyme, and then we split the other herbs :)  Isn't that an awesome idea? I know.  (Well, I saw it on Studio 5, so I can't take all of the credit) Now I need to start actually cooking...

Don't you just LOVE this homemade cake plate???? This was at my friend, Holly's house.  I NEED to make one of these.  Very soon.

Check it out.  LOVE being organized.  These are my paint colors in my house.  How easy access is this? So you put some of your paint into quart sized containers and then every time you need to do a touch-up because your child drew all over the wall with permanent markers or something equally horrifying, it's so simple.

Finally. A Suitable Use for Binkies.

My kids don't take them the "conventional" way...

They work very well as toe separators for Claire's pedicures.

Obsessed.

Instead of exercising, I've been "crafting." I'm obsessed.

Headband for a friend, headbands for my nieces, bows for my other nieces... and I admit Claire has so many bows that the three floor to ceiling ribbon bearing hooks in her room filled with bows are completely overflowing, including a box of filled with smaller bows and clips. Yeah. Crazy. So now I make them mainly for other people's kids.

And I have been a little obsessed with appliqueing (is that how you spell it?)...from onesies to toddler shirts...I love it.

Also love making diaper cakes for baby showers. This one was for my friend Buffy's coming baby, Zeb :)

And what is going to make my crafting obsession even MORE prolific?? My brand new sewing machine!! (yeah, brand new, as you can tell, I haven't even really "opened" it) Btw. I should have had Jordan take all of these pictures. Most are from my phone, and therefore, are NOT good.

NOT Loves.

Followup to this post. Might enjoy doing this one even more...

-Having no money at the mall (thus, don't go there...)
-Not being able to eat chocolate for every meal
-Liberals (incl. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Gore, Stupid Press Secretary-whatever his name is?, Michael Moore...and all the Hollywood idiots who think these guys are going to better our country after it's totally bankrupt (wait, it already is), as they throw money at this stupid global warming bunch of bull, making Al Gore even richer, Obama look like the "chosen one," all while turing our country into the new-and-NOT-improved Soviet Union) Ok...I'll stop this rant now....
-The salad dressing bottles that don't have the funnel thing, and you end up having salad dressing soup for dinner
-Shaving my legs
-Orange and brown and yellow and green together as decorating colors (throw up.)
-Paying full price for a movie that TOTALLY stinks in the theater (ie: Meet Joe Black, Big Fish and plenty of others)
-Regrowth

-Realizing the economy isn't getting any better
-My HOA
-Little boys who pee on my house.
-When I lie to Jordan about how much I spent at the store (Lowe's at least!!) on flowers/plants for the yard by telling him $10 less (because I felt guilty I'd spent double what we'd agreed upon)....and he calls me and says "Honey, your lying doesn't work when you leave the RECEIPT in the car!!!" AH!
-Cellulite, flab, fat
-And, to top it off....dieting.
-My messy living room
-Scrambled eggs sans cheese...gross.
-Claire crying in the backseat because she's tired of being in the car and not being able to calm her down
-Bland food that really needs SALT
-Forgetting to take the garbage out to the curb until I hear the truck the morning OF and run out in a bath robe (technically it's my loving husband's job...but he forgets at times)
-Doing my hair
-Adam Lambert (very talented but grosses me out)
-Facing the facts
-That some of my closest friends have a hard time getting pregnant
-Taking my face off, brushing teeth, flossing, etc. before going to bed--I wish I could just snap my fingers and have it all happen
-Asking the shoe salesman for a size 10. And I'm not even that tall.
-That I can't dance
-Recently not having cable, and therefore no O'Reilly Factor :(
-Bad pictures of me
-That I can't sight-read (piano music) worth a DARN.
-That I can't redecorate my house every 3 months
-Singing alto.
-Getting that heavy carseat in and out of the car a million times a day
-Not fitting into certain jeans in my closet
-Zits
-Stretch marks
-Criticism
-Checking my voicemail
-Eating pumpkin pie without whipped cream all over it

Loves.

*My child
*My husband
Rainy days
Brownies with ice cream on top
Texting (GREATEST invention ever, besides the BLOG)
So You Think You Can Dance
Talking to Becca a hundred times a day
Buying the same clothes as Natalie on a regular basis
Turquoise jewelry
Sydney & Gavin-isms
Rummikub
Christmas Eve
Digital Cameras
The O'Reilly Factor
Mosiah 2:41
Whipped cream
Claire's pink toenails

The Ensign's Latter-Day Saint Voices section
Kid-to-Kid
Finding answers to all of my random "wonderings" on the Internet
Roller coasters
A clean kitchen
Sleeping in
MAC Makeup
America First CU's online bill pay
Baby Mama
Costco...everything
Diet Pepsi (caffeine-free, mom :)) & Black Cherry Fresca
Being a "Mommy"...even at 3am
Prayer
Singing with my sisters
My mattress
My husband in the act of cleaning... :)
Bachelor/Bachelorette night with the girls
People that laugh at my jokes
This face:

"Extracting" a blackhead (I know, I'm gross)
Kneader's french toast breakfast
Gospel Doctrine Class on Sundays
New jeans
Celine Dion
Air conditioning
My friend, Rachel for keeping my company while Jordan works nights
Beach in Mexico
In the Toilet: American Idol Fashion blog postings
My Homedics alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling!!

Thanks Juliann for the idea for this post :)

Edited by Jordan @ 8:30am 06.22.2009 *Just had to put the two most important at the top. :-P

Yard Sale-ing

Today was a blast. We had a multi-family yard sale in my community and seriously, we all got RICH!!!! I can totally buy a mansion, pay off my debts, and take a cruise to Europe with my earnings...all in the economic downturn too!

Ok fine "I wish," but we actually didn't do too badly! I was able to sell all of the "high-ticket" items, like two train sets for $70 (!) and a bike and our old coal BBQ grill. Overall, I made like $130-ish. It was fun. We should have a community yard sale every year!

But we MUST ban crazy thieves. So, Rachel Den Beste and I yard-sale'd together, and she had a SUPER UGLY RUG (who KNOWS where she got that beast!) that she was selling: $2. Well, this lady picked it up, put it under her arm and started walking off!! I nicely went over and said, "Oh were you interested in the rug?" And she said yes and paid up. So, I wasn't sure she was a thief just yet....

BUT THEN, I talked to my neighbor Brad, and apparently, he "caught a shoplifter" taking one of his wife's expensive purses from the for-sale items! I asked if it was a hispanic lady, and he said, "yes" and went on to tell me that she picked up the purse, put it in a RUG that was under her arm, and then high-tailed it to her car!! He followed her and she ended up buying the purse! But I can't believe the NERVE! Crazy people out there.

Anyway, I got super fried, and Claire got some sun too--ALTHOUGH, I put SPF 50 on her! We were just out in the sun a long time, from 9-12 (yes, I was late to my own yard sale...but Jordan was late getting home that morning and I needed his help!)

And yes, we had Wendy's.

Driving Along, Heading to Vegas, Tired as H#@%

So, I have NEVER been great at driving, period. But this time, I'm not talking about all of the 'caused-by-me' accidents I've incurred in my ever-aging lifespan. I am talking about the practice of getting behind a steering wheel, accelerating to a comfortable speed of 80mph, and taking a hard long look at a barren, straight, fairly smooth road for 6 hours. It is TIRING. I don't care what time of day it is, how sunny it is, how dark it is, how many hours of sleep I got the night before, etc. etc. I can never do it--at least not for very long. I think the whole new mommy sleep deprivation hasn't helped either to be honest. AND, I want you all to know that when I am tired, I TOTALLY pull over and sleep. I don't drive drowsy.

So we're on our way to Vegas for Memorial Day weekend, and Jordan had worked all night the night before we left, so he was done. Thus, it was my turn to drive. About, you know, a hefty 10 whole minutes into it, I was pretty much asleep with my eyes open. So, I exited, deciding to get some "munchies" and a drink of sorts for the road. This never usually helps much, but hey, I was desperate!

So I walk into the gas station. I look at the "munchy" aisle. Very appealing, but not very helpful to my problem, in the end. But I did pick up a few items. Then, I go to the refrigerator section, and start thinking that maybe something Red Bull-ish might help, but think of all the caffeine and how unhealthy it is, etc. etc. and go to the register instead.

And there I see it.

I had seen a few people drink these 5-Hour Energy shots before, and they weren't the Red Bull addicts or anything, so I picked one up. The bottle boasts 5 hours of energy with NO crash at the end. Caffeine makes you crash, and they say no crash, so does that mean no caffeine? I look at the ingredients: Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and a bunch of other "harmless" supplements. Great. I get it. In fact, I get the "extra strength" version even! I drink half. Then, Jordan says, "Honey, what are you drinking??" I explain, and he is very...skeptical as to my "healthy" find. He grabs the bottle from me, and takes a look as I explain how great it is that it doesn't have caffeine, and I was going to get VITAMINS even! Folic Acid! Great for Moms!

"Honey... did you look at the other side of the bottle??" Guess not. HIDDEN in the back (How they hide these things from my all-seeing eye on a 4 oz. bottle of goo is unimaginable!) is the description of how there is TONS of caffeine in that little bottle, in fact, a full 4 oz. equalling 12 cups of coffee!! NOT to mention that it said that pregnant or nursing mothers shouldn't drink it at all. GREAT. I'm an idiot. An awake idiot for the day... Fortunately, I only drank 6 cups of coffee--I mean, HALF a shot.

I felt pretty guilty. Especially on Sunday when Claire was up from 4am on........ I think maybe something to do with the major dose of awakening drugs in the breastmilk???

P.S. I just found out that that shot is equal to 12 OUNCES of coffee. HONEY. You read it wrong. That's slightly better than 12 CUPS. I was wondering how they could fit it all in there.....

Ode to Frogurt

MMmmmmmm I really love this new frozen yogurt place at the Draper Peaks shopping area... "Frogurt." It has Dryers Frozen Yogurt, (which means it tastes more creamy, like ice cream--not that pathetic frozen yogurt that's halfway melted into a puddle of milk by the time you walk outside!!) and when you walk in, there is wall full of frozen yogurt machines--you help yourself! Then they have a "salad bar" type set up with toppings galore. You pay 35 cents an ounce and it carries the best sugar-free, fat-free vanilla around!! Plus it has this great atmosphere--leather sofas & coffee tables...a really cool place to hang out with your girlfriends. LOVE it. (Ok, promise I'm not the spokesperson for Frogurt...but don't you think they should pay me for the free advertising?)

So, I've started counting my calories, and so far it has been the easiest "diet" I've ever been on!! WHY did I not think of calorie-counting before??? Maybe becuase I try to steer away from MATH & COUNTING as much as possible. But, omigosh, and I ate so much--seriously...4 days on this thing, and I've already lost a pound. And what makes it easier? 80 calories a serving at Frogurt. :)

My Fabulous Font!

I saw this on Ariel's blog and thought it was such a cool idea, so I had to do it!! I hope you guys do it too because I'd love to see everyone's "typed" handwriting! (so that's an oxymoron!)

Here is a sample of what my handwriting looks like:

If you want to do it too, the website is: http://www.yourfonts.com/ !

Don't call me by my real name...please....

Am I crazy?

So, recently, Jordan has decided to call me by.........my......REAL NAME! Definitely not ALL THE TIME, but sometimes, and I hate it!!! He's not allowed to call me Janessa or I just know he is mad at me!!!

So I made up some rules...

Honey, you can only call me by my real name in the following circumstances:

1. If we're in a crowded area and there are lots of husbands and wives around, and ONLY after you have at least called after me with "Honey!" once. I can recognize your voice you know...

2. If you are referring to me in conversation with a third party.

Ummm...there would be more rules, but there aren't any other instances in which he is allowed to call me anything but a pet name. Period.

BYU-UTAH Rivalry

So...I went to BYU. And I had a great time. Didn't get my tuition reimbursement when I graduated sans the "Mrs." title, but I don't have any hard feelings :) I have to say that during my time there, I went to TWO football games. They were both on first dates. That's it.

People can't seem to understand why I'm not into the "rivalry" hype. And to be honest, I LOVE playing football--like flag football--but I just really don't get much joy in watching it! Basketball and soccer are WAY more interesting to me. In football, they just yell "hike," the QB passes the ball to someone close by, usually, that person gets nailed, and then they break apart again...gaining like one yard. Most of the time I can't even SEE what's going on with all of those huge BODIES in the way!!! Gosh! And soccer players (although very wimpy, howling in pain every time they are even NUDGED by their opponent) are a lot hotter to look upon :)

Another reason I don't watch the games is that my husband is kinda...well, not into them. In fact, I'M the one watching the Olympics by myself! Funny story... So, we were in church a few weeks ago, when the speaker, talking about leadership, decided to use a couple of analogies. He said, "For women, lack of leadership is like sheep without a shepheard." And then he said, "And for men...It's like a football team without a quarterback." I promptly turned to Jordan and said, "Honey, what's it like for you??" He said, "It's like a computer without a CPU." WHAT a nerd he is. hahaha.... But such a CUTE nerd!!! Oh, and I looked it up: A "CPU" is a "Central Processing Unit" or what is commonly known as the brain of your computer. It takes the orders, processes them, and then tells all of the other parts to work.

OK back to the original story. Are you bored yet? I'm just rambling I guess.... So, I wore a RED shirt today on accident. To work. In hindsight, I should've gone home and changed! There were WAY too many Utes fans in the office. I was just a number--AND people thought I was numbered among THEM. Almost NO representation for my alma matter. Oh well!

One of my friends, Larry, got his cubicle decorated by our coworker (and Utes fan), Ginni. She decorated die-hard-BYU-fan-Larry's cubicle in Ute style, haha... Here are the pictures!

OK...Jordan's Quirks!!

Ok...these aren't all "quirks" but who cares... and there are more than 6 :)

1. Jordan frequently talks in his sleep. And, unlike me (and Michelle--since we were roomies, I'd hear you too!) who just kinda mumbles, you can actually TALK to him, and he'll respond! The funniest one was when he "woke up" and turned to me saying that he just "talked to 'Survivor Man' and if we separate out his kit, we can all have survival kits too." Then I said, "That's nice honey." Just before I was going to roll over, he gave me this look as if to say "Fine. Be that way. You never care about my survival ideas." hahahaaha....

2. Jordan loves taking things apart and fixing things. When he was little he used to take apart the VCR. This was before he knew how to put it back together though...hehe....I'm glad he knows now, and feel sorry for his parents, but thankful, since almost ANYTHING that breaks in the house can be fixed by my handyman! (he has fixed my blow drier 4 or 5 times)

3. When Jordan eats M&Ms or Skittles, he has to separate them by color, put them each into little rows, and then narrow down the longest rows so that they are all even. Then, he has to eat them all in an nondiscriminatory fashion (eating one off of each row at a time) until they are all gone.

4. Jordan is better with babies than most men who actually have children. Every time I get on the phone with Gavin, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is "Where's 'Mon?' (Jordan's nickname--for "Monster"). And every time we visit little Ava, she clings to Jordan the whole night. And any time we babysit anyone's baby (Ava, or Heather's cute little Lauren), Jordan is the one who knows what she wants, how to put her to bed, how long to burp her, etc. etc.

5. When Jordan was little (like 6 or something) his mom tells me that he HATED if anyone coddled him or sympathized when he skinned his knee or got hurt in any way. Basically, what you had to do was say 'ah, looks like you got hurt.' Then he'd respond with a nonchalant 'yeah.' And leave it at that--maybe offer to help wipe the blood off!! That little streak of independence still lives on, but Jordan now likes it when I give him lots of sympathy and attention, like when he's sick, and usually in the form of a back rub or foot massage.

6. Jordan LOVES watching "really entertaining" (OK, so I'm being sarcastic) Sci-Fi shows, like "Stargate Atlantis." I think they're so hokey and cheesy (and actually so does he) but he LOVES them. He keeps those guys in business.

7. Jordan's favorite bargaining tool is the infamous "massage." Like, "honey, we can discuss baby names...if you give me a massage while we do it," or "honey, I'll watch 'the Olympics' with you...if you give me a massage..." (ok, guess another quirk would be that he DOES NOT watch sports--EVEN the Olympics!!) Anyway, the massage bargaining is an ongoing thing. Depending on how much I want the thing I'm asking him to do for/with me, I will give in.

8. When he is bored (like at the DMV or somewhere you can't do ANYTHING to entertain yourself as you wait in line), Jordan starts counting things in the room (ie: ceiling tiles).

9. When waking him up, you have to make sure you don't nudge him or even lightly touch him. He'll jerk like someone who just got electrocuted! Apparently others in his family are the same way. So, when I wake him, I make sure to just softly say his name (from a distance) a few times and he'll wake up just fine. (I just discovered this one--after years of scaring the crap out of him!)

10. Jordan is the MASTER at getting good deals. He always has some kind of coupon, plus a way to get an extra 20% off, additional rebate, etc. etc. Especially with anything electronic. It amazes me. Now if only he could get me free CLOTHES or JEWELRY all the time :) Honey, will you work on that?

Stopping the stupid credit card offers...

I don't know about you, but I get preapproved credit card offers ALL THE TIME. Not only is it really annyoing, but it also actually hurts your credit--those credit card companies screen your credit each time they send one out. SO, I just found out how to avoid it all and get off their "mailing list!!' (the credit bureaus have you on a list that they give to credit card companies and insurance companies that allows them to prescreen).

www.optoutprescreen.com

Best kept secret. Register to opt out here and you'll have less junk mail. It will also raise your credit score between 5-10 points in the first month--that's a plus!

Anyway, just thought I'd share!

Awwww....

Just wanted to remember this...