tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54294267128769368622024-02-07T10:59:58.093-08:00Compost of the mouthA silly blogMerileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-32014664118806019382022-09-09T11:41:00.000-07:002022-09-09T11:41:22.164-07:00After a while, CrocodileHere are a couple shows to watch-<div><br /></div><div>The Summer I turned Pretty 2022(Amazon)- 4 stars. I enjoyed watching it, but it does have some groping and normalizes teen drinking. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nicholas Nickleby 2002(Amazon)- 5 stars. I somehow have never seen this gem, but it has all the things I like in a film. Wonderful characters, period drama, intrigue, nothing too glaringly gory or crass.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Last Dance 2022 (Neflix)- 5 stars. I loved it. I like sports, but don't watch them all the time. I have actually wondered why MJ quit basketball to play baseball and why they broke up the dream team. This docu series answered those questions for me. </div><div><br /></div><div>Vanity Fair 2018 (Amazon)- 5 stars. Enjoyable watch. Period show. Nothing too racy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow War 2021 (Amazon)- 5 stars. So good. Reminded me of the Edge of Tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Terminal List 2022 (Amazon)- 4 stars. Gory, language, but interesting and fun to watch. Reminded me a little of the Bourne Series. The first episode was kind of boring, but stick to it and you'll enjoy it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Banished 2015 (hulu)-4 stars. Very interesting show about the Australian colony. Only went 7 episodes, but I enjoyed watching them while the show lasted.</div><div><br /></div><div>Delicious 2022 (Amazon)- 4 stars. I enjoyed watching a show based in this time period. </div><div><br /></div><div>Doctor Thorne 2016 (Amazon)- 3 stars. I enjoyed it, but it took me a while and I wasn't a huge fan of the main heroine. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Electrical life of Louis Wain 2021 (Amazon)- 3 stars. I enjoyed it, but it had a sad feel throughout.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love & Friendship 2016 (Amazon)- 3 stars. I like period shows, but this one was rather blah.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Music of Silence 2018 (Amazon)- 3 stars. A little boring.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gray Man 2022 (Netflix)- 5 stars. Funny and interesting plot. Did have 1 or 2 gross short spy torture scenes.</div>Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-12055959619533481162020-05-03T11:36:00.000-07:002020-05-03T11:43:08.247-07:00Bee ChillIn the last couple of weeks, I have learned a very important lesson. I am very popular with bees. Let's just say I've seen two swarms of bees outside my garage and 3 swarms have gone to live underneath our storage container.<br />
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I have a developing relationship with our bee lady <a href="https://www.monicamking.com/#/">Monica King</a> and she's great. She's always ready to give me bee advice and rid me of bees. She's got beekeeper connections and I know she's going to be essential in removing hoards of bees from our place.<br />
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When Monica came to get the latest group of bees, she told Charles not to come outside because there was a rattlesnake under the bush by the front door. She called a friend who relocated the snake to the mountains. I've also killed two scorpions this week. One in the garage and one in our shed where we keep the trash. Otherwise, the javelinas dump it and make a mess. Thanks for that, desert raccoons. </div>
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We also have an older neighbor that lives behind us. She has three bigger dogs, which are not very personable, that she walks through our yard every day at the end of her walk. When we first moved in, she said hello and mentioned sometimes she uses our yard as a shortcut. I've come to realize she does it...every day.</div>
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Last week, after the latest swarm set up camp under our shipping container, our neighbor left a note and a printout of numbers on our front door letting us know we had a bee problem. Thanks neighbor. If you're concerned, don't walk through my yard. Ever again. </div>
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We've also had a lot of things breaking recently. Our front door wedged itself closed on a screw that was coming up from the threshold. Charles fixed it, but when he got home and couldn't open the front door, he had to come in through the garage. Our front gate fell off because of termites or wood rot. Our kids messed up the door on their closet track,which Charles also fixed. Strangely enough I also find random screws around our house that have worked themselves free from their homes. I usually don't have any idea where they came from, even though I look around with great aplomb. Our faucet started leaking again, but Charles fixed it. Luckily, he's a pretty handy guy and he lives here.<br />
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Overall, it seems like summer in April is quite dangerous. Welcome to Tucson!<br />
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Besides it being a dangerous place with all the biting things, it is also a beautiful place. </div>
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These roses are growing in our back yard. It is a lovely surprise to see what blooms around our house that the previous owners planted. </div>
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This is a dolly I saw last week. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the toys around here put themselves away. This doll probably heard about the snake. </div>
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Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-36212867728199824312019-08-18T21:59:00.001-07:002019-08-18T21:59:26.407-07:00A busy time-Whoa, I can't believe the summer has ended. I mean, for me the summer is about the same as the rest of the year. However, since we had a fun vacation this year, summer was a little more varied than usual.<div>
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I'm playing catch up as usual, so I'll try not to make this epic-ly long. </div>
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I did a lot of big projects this summer.</div>
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1) Planned and attended a family reunion for my mother's side of the family</div>
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2) Did a 100 day project</div>
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3) Made 162 art pieces for my brother's game <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LasBrosGames/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARBRkskGn0E7-kUVucLVb9fMFWwc8UMIvOKUWmg-uu2stHvCwwnEsiwuy0ZgeBVAVHrtvK8_jdAbdMK-&hc_ref=ARS5O0NxNQcvXi7VLIhMWqS6Bp0lg5g2lL12HnyxAj-J2dkif7F2-dDHr8aYpwVP8B8&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARDx7X6rCmrRJEAiIz94uTKYhvMmiAP8mpcs0AHSV_PPUAKB9QDRu-Fk8n47RFx-rGXY9hdVe_-zKXAVWbCUqfNqdX1FKFwuSgUYP88M7FsDhkK4NieIuOdDaAoSia4U0pdxrJnLz_efTuJ0hxfj3_7za2MToiH_yDBIeC_CfhiM98vft0e1MIIn0hsEaEmu8QgJ9WNkakepddK1UfwcEWG8_iSNBKUJW-VUKNHUS7X1HmHWj0djxcet3Qtua3iGrfz20SbVtC4qfAjNquuuKgHeg-ctFSqbqZRRem7ZnbR3bvu5g4mbSX8IGLrgN2pPn_DUPGlPlg7133DL">Shadowlands</a>. I posted them all on my 2nd instagram account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/compostofthehand/">compostofthehand</a></div>
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4) Published my book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Procures-Happiness-Merilee-Ward-ebook/dp/B07VPN454J">Awkward Procures Happiness</a> on Amazon</div>
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5) Kept my babies alive</div>
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These are my kids in the tub and temporary ball pit. Since we live in Tucson, tiny cockroaches and sometimes big ones, come up from the drain, even though I plug it. So after we played in the balls for a while, mommy put them back in bags. Both my kids also had giant tantrums afterwards, since we stopped playing after a couple of jumps from the top of the tub. Hey kids, there aren't THAT many balls in the tub. Maybe another day we'll put them in a pack-n-play. Also, thanks America, for all the new fun toys and books. And clothes.</div>
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This is a giant tarantula I saw outside someone's door a couple nights ago. It was huge. I did not touch it, but the sister missionary next to me did. She coaxed it onto her hand and then placed it in the grass next to the sidewalk. Spooky.</div>
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We saw lots of family on our vacation. This is Uncle Dave. He's loads of fun. Bruce and Cordelia aren't quite doing sentences right now. However, Bruce did manage "No Dave cookie" after he'd taken a cookie from Dave and ate it.<br />
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This is a Beast Mode card I painted for my brother Grant's game S<a href="https://www.facebook.com/LasBrosGames/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARBRkskGn0E7-kUVucLVb9fMFWwc8UMIvOKUWmg-uu2stHvCwwnEsiwuy0ZgeBVAVHrtvK8_jdAbdMK-&hc_ref=ARS5O0NxNQcvXi7VLIhMWqS6Bp0lg5g2lL12HnyxAj-J2dkif7F2-dDHr8aYpwVP8B8&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARDx7X6rCmrRJEAiIz94uTKYhvMmiAP8mpcs0AHSV_PPUAKB9QDRu-Fk8n47RFx-rGXY9hdVe_-zKXAVWbCUqfNqdX1FKFwuSgUYP88M7FsDhkK4NieIuOdDaAoSia4U0pdxrJnLz_efTuJ0hxfj3_7za2MToiH_yDBIeC_CfhiM98vft0e1MIIn0hsEaEmu8QgJ9WNkakepddK1UfwcEWG8_iSNBKUJW-VUKNHUS7X1HmHWj0djxcet3Qtua3iGrfz20SbVtC4qfAjNquuuKgHeg-ctFSqbqZRRem7ZnbR3bvu5g4mbSX8IGLrgN2pPn_DUPGlPlg7133DL">hadowlands</a>. I'd never played it before our Reunion this summer. Grant had sent everyone in the family the cards to print so we could play the game and give suggestions, but he didn't have any original art for it and hadn't pulled together the money to pay an artist. So after my 100 day project, I did 162 cards for his game. That was a fun project.<br />
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We actually surprised him with all the cards printed out at the reunion. My brother Christian actually superimposed my artwork onto his game cards and his wife Carly helped us by being sneaky. It was the BEST surprise ever. He was like WHAT?! So now I've played the game and am looking for more projects.<br />
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These babies love Costco and samples. You can't beat stickers.<br />
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Another card for Gran'ts game. This is the Looter card.</div>
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These books are just adding up. Someday we'll just have to get a house to fit all the books.<br />
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This is a card back idea I had. It's a dragon I did which I'm not totally disgusted with.<br />
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We're all set with clothes now, thanks everyone with all the hand me downs. Jess, America, Jenny, Sarah, Mom. Thanks for all the clothing!<br />
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This is the horse master. It's probably one of my favorites. Actually, the more I did, the more impressed I was.<br />
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This was free Chik-fil-A day. We also won a contest from the Ina at Thornydale and won some free food! Woot!<br />
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Some trees for a background on the game.<br />
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The sticky traps we set out for months. The only sign we had of catching a mouse, was a bunch of bloody mouse footprints along the top rim of our couch. Also, a dried puddle on the windowsill. We never found a mouse, but there's poison in the closet with the 5 traps in there. I'm hoping it somehow died and I'll never have to put these all out again.<br />
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The moose, a mount card.<br />
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This was mud day at the zoo. We participated and had loads of fun.<br />
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An apron I decorated for an auction at a fundraiser.<br />
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After all that fun stuff, I'm looking towards Christmas and my projects for then. Also, perhaps a children's book. </div>
Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-8225104176997781792019-07-26T14:34:00.000-07:002019-07-26T14:34:57.189-07:00Who me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I know it has been quite a while since any news has been added on my blog. So I figured I'd update you. January was the last time since I blogged. So I figured I'd start there.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSobpMeXOBMuPg189VnUhsWpamxgVPM1l5nXcq0CuPkoPx5lLjdOQbvHSQMgVtwAWkCD1mmAgSx-WQmy1z1y3uqeFZGjcarpPIj2t0H4wwxdoZ9dKRUMxY213MCjXKAx3L8pox-gl_G7Q/s1600/20190124_180034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSobpMeXOBMuPg189VnUhsWpamxgVPM1l5nXcq0CuPkoPx5lLjdOQbvHSQMgVtwAWkCD1mmAgSx-WQmy1z1y3uqeFZGjcarpPIj2t0H4wwxdoZ9dKRUMxY213MCjXKAx3L8pox-gl_G7Q/s320/20190124_180034.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
January was a great month. In fact, it's one of my favorites. Why? Mostly because it's my birthday month and because all the Christmas visiting and excitement has died down. I love the holidays, but I"m also a planner. Since I plan a lot, sometimes I get stressed about more than I should. This is a picture of how Cordi feels when I'm stressed.<br />
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February was nice because we celebrated our love with a couple of ice cream cakes. We made fancy, multi-layered ice cream cakes for each of us. This creativity was spurred on mostly by Charles, but I joined it. It was a tasty exercise in the merits and foibles of a nice, homemade ice cream cake. We loved them all, but some were better combinations of cake and ice cream than others. Charles went a little overboard and I ended up having to eat mine layer by layer, so I could enjoy mine to full effect.</div>
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Bruce decided to multi-toy play. That is a baby stroller on top of a lawn mower. He has great ideas. Keep them coming Bruce, you're going to have kids someday. I need swell ideas like this to help make me a great grandma. I might have toddlers, but they're real thinkers.<br />
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Now that my babies are 2, they are cuddly buggers. They cuddle with each other, with me and Charles, and sometimes they just cuddle themselves. My favorite is when I ask if they want to read with me and they say, "Self" and plunk themselves down on the couch with a book. Now that's some independence I can get behind.<br />
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March was when I started my 100 day project. My friend Theresa told me about it. It's an internet phenomenon that let's you be creative every day for 100 days, share, and improve your style. I wanted to try it and am so glad I did. Now I have an even better handle on my artistic self than I did before. Since my 100 day project, I have also been working on other artistic projects to keep my mojo. I'm very happy with my extra practice.<br />
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April did not come with many showers, but it did bring some bonks. Cordi and Bruce both took turns falling and getting nasty forehead bruises. Also, they started serving up their own foodstuffs. What am I, some kind of slave? Jokes, this happened when I was cleaning Cordi up after breakfast. Bruce was apparently not done eating yet.<br />
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May was a time when I decided after improving myself artistically, I should also finish writing my dumb book.<br />
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Actually, it's not a dumb book. It's an amazing, fantastic book. I started it in 2007 and am amazed that I finally finished and published it. Hurrah for 12 years in the making of embarrassing stories.<br />
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Now you can all read about how terrible my first kiss was. I know you've wondered all these years. Also, remember how I accidentally credit carded that guy at Caryn's wedding reception and my hand got stuck in his crack because he clenched? Oh, you never heard that story? Well I wrote about it in my book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Procures-Happiness-Merilee-Ward-ebook/dp/B07VPN454J/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=awkward+procure+happiness&qid=1564176225&s=gateway&sr=8-1">Awkward Procures Happiness</a>".<br />
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It's now available on ebook and you can buy the paperback in 3 days. How do you like them apples?<br />
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June, July...who cares about those months? I just told you I published a book I've been working on and off of for 12 years. Go get your hands on that book!!!! Also, I'm going to maybe see you soon, so I'm totally down to sign it too. Just write a sweet heartfelt message from me in the front cover, and I'll put my name down. Jokes, jokes.<br />
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Actually, June was good. I finished my 100 day project and with some relief started doing MORE edits on my book that I finally finished. Now I can finally cross that wonderful goal off and make some more goals. Hopefully these new ones won't take me so long.<br />
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July my babies turned 2. Can you believe it? Me neither! They are getting so big and even though they have crib tents now, they still make my life exciting. Last week Cordi took her diaper off during nap 2 days in a row and smeared poop everywhere. Thanks Cordo! Bruce actually calls her Cordo, so we've started doing it too. Anyway, that's with the jammies on backwards. She is a real contortionist when she's bored. And super skinny. I found out she's under the 1 percentile in weight for her age group. So I've been avidly trying to fatten her up. She had ice cream for lunch 2x this week. That's mothering for you.<br />
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I know what you're thinking. However, she doesn't like peanut butter, avocado, or cream slipped into her milk. Believe me, I've tried my best. She does like chocolate though. Just like mommy. Oh yeah, and somewhere in there my kids started eating chocolate and not getting crazy diaper rashes. So that's nice. I like sharing with my sweet babies. Not too much now, but just a little.<br />
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Anyway, that's my update. LOOOOVE, MerileeMerileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-69465282400639899602019-01-27T09:31:00.001-08:002019-01-27T09:32:33.800-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Dad, there's a possum in the chicken coop!" That's all it took. We threw on our shoes and coats as we ran to the barn. My dad turned on the barn light and went over to the tool wall. Carefully he examined his options to kill the poor thing. A shovel perhaps? Too unwieldy. A pitchfork? Messy. Ah, a sledgehammer. We then watched in awe, as our dad entered the chicken coop with his weapon of choice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To our surprise and horror, we did not see one beady-eyed creature the size of a bulldog, but three. As we watched through the chicken wire from the goat milking stand, Dad hefted the sledgehammer onto his shoulder. Slam! Missed a possum. Wabam! He got one. The chickens sqaucked from their roosting positions in their front row seats, just five feet above the action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deftly, dad would hoist the sledgehammer again and again. Gradually, you could see the fatigue settling in. As he once again lifted the heavy tool, it became apparent this technique was not as effortless as we had originally suspected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Down it came again, upon a villainous headhunter and lo, the sledgehammer broke into halves. We watched in awe as our hero panted. Two large possums stared at him and one lay unmoving at his feet. The four glittering black eyes reflected only calculation and greed as they glanced from Dad and his broken weapon to the roosting chickens above.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of us grabbed a shovel from the wall, opened the door a crack, and slipped it through to Dad. Then rejoining the others on the milking stand, waited to see what a shovel could do to those fiends. Opening the tiny chicken door to the outside air, Dad then did his best to coax the possums outside. Eventually they left and he shoveled the fallen enemy into a garbage sack. The next morning we found another of the possums in a trap placed strategically in the nearby garden. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will never forget the awesome sight of my father, lifting and swinging that sledgehammer.</span></div>
<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-58333907575065367672019-01-22T12:37:00.000-08:002019-01-22T21:41:55.590-08:00Birthday Birthday-It was my birthday this month and I found out some Birthday freebies for you and when you can redeem your items. You're welcome.<br />
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Birthday JSYK Freebies-<br />
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7-eleven- 1 free slushy, full birthday month<br />
Red Robin - 1 free burger and endless fries, full birthday month<br />
Nothing Bundt Cakes- 1 free buntlet, full birthday month<br />
Starbucks- 1 free item, only day of birth<br />
Baskin Robbins- 1 kiddie cone, full birthday month<br />
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I am giving a presentation today about using your time wisely and finding time for your dreams. If you'd like to look over this outline to get ideas on how to save time, please do.<br />
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Finding talents and reaching our potential (Look UP)<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I. How to make more time in your day</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Think of and record action items (Wants and Needs) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Grocery shopping- 1 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Laundry- 11 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Bath time- 6:30 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Visit zoo- 12 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Call insurance- 10:30 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. 30 minutes piano- 10:40 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Research Amazon publishing- 11:20 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8. Weekly Email- 11:40 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9. Scripture study- 7 AM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10. 30 minute Run- 7:30 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11. Write in journal- 10 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12. Bruce Haircut- 6 PM</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13. Ministering appointment- 10:40</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. Assign Times to those items (Star multitask items)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C. Stick to your schedule (Look at it), but be flexible (Timers/Alarms)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D. Plan for tomorrow's schedule & Check off completed items</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E. Acknowledge additional things you accomplished</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Made bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Made sausage kale soup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Made dinner for tomorrow </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Got Gas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">II. Understanding YOUR time perception and how to manipulate it. The 2 ways our brain stores memory:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Many different activities- Memory Records as separate activities</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Christmas vacation (Reading all break vs. Raquetball/ Spa Night/ Nativity</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Weekend Time (Movies vs. Outings/Hikes)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. Similar types of activities- Recorded in summary form</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Same old every day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Unplanned schedule</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we get a lot done, we also feel like we had a longer day and more time to do those things</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">III. Making time for your Dreams</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> A</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Name your Dream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> B</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Research and Budget</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> C</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Make a Plan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> D. Give yourself a deadline/ Find and tell someone who will keep you accountable</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> E</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. After accomplishing dreams, record new dreams</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IV. After we understand the perception and malleability of time, we can utilize it to satisfy our needs and desires in a timely manner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">V. Testimony of Planning and its importance</span></div>
<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-73973922106194441652018-12-16T16:01:00.001-08:002019-01-08T15:33:25.060-08:00Do it Yourself Stocking Stuffer ideas-<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">Ha, well my sister, brother/wife, mom/dad, and other brother are all coming over for Christmas. We'll have three babies and eight adults. So I figured we'd do a very Adult Christmas. Adult minus kinky. Charles and I talked about how we didn't need giant bags of candy for everyone since we're all grownups. So here's a little list you might find helpful for ideas during this holiday season.</span><br /><br />1. <a href="https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/32260/chocolate-chip-cookie-mix-in-a-jar">Cookies in a jar-</a> Since grownups have more patience than kids and appreciate cookies more than candy, I think perhaps this would work well. They're not huge, but are big enough to stuff up some stockings. Also, you don't have to eat these cookies immediately like a bunch of stocking treats will tempt you to do.</div>
<br />2. <a href="https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/homemade-bath-bombs/">Bath bombs</a> and <a href="https://helloglow.co/6-aromatherapy-blends-for-diy-bath-salts/">Salts</a>- Everybody likes to smell good. If you buy bath bombs at the store, they will cost you $3-$5 each- not a great value, since you drop them into water and they disintegrate into nothing. However, if you buy the ingredients you get literally more Bang for your buck. My kids are a little scared of them, but also fascinated by them. So there's always that. They are small and can be used at your convenience. Also, it's nice to experience a bit of luxury every once in a while.<br /><br />
3. <a href="https://www.giftcards.com/">Gift cards</a>- Honestly, this one isn't as fun as some of the other stocking ideas. I mean, it is a little bit of a cop out, just like cash, but like money it's fun to get. Nobody will be getting $50 gift cards over at my house, but a couple of fun discretionary $10 cards will be warming some blood<br /><br />
4. <a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-make-a-secret-book-safe/">Hide a book</a>- There are a lot of books out there. Most people have shelves full of books around the house. That makes this gift a useful and fun addition to any house. <br /><br />
5. <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ear-Cuffs">Ear jewelry</a>- Who do you know that actually owns ear cuffs or elf ear coverings? According to the internet it's the new, hip thing. Since I'm clearly a cool mom, you know I'm all about that.<br /><br />
6. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Austenland-Keri-Russell/dp/B00G7QPXAI">Movies</a>- Dvds, blu rays, amazon videos, movie tickets, hulu/netflix subscriptions, redbox coupons. I love movies, so this is always a win for me. Plus, there are random $5 deals you can find. Can't beat that.<br /><br />
7. <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/imusic-play-unlimited-music/id1289580043?mt=8">Music</a>- Honestly, I listen to pandora on our Alexa app usually, but I know some people really enjoy listening to tunes on their phones. I also listen to books on tape from the library while I exercise, so this isn't something I'm super interested in. But SOME people will just love little tunes coupons and CDs. <br /><br />
8. <a href="https://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books">Picture books</a>- What more personal way to say I love you, than "Hey, I looked through all these pictures, organized them into a book, and now whenever you go through it, you'll think of me." You can also ask around in the family for kind things to say about that person and put those things in the book. <br /><br />
9. Necessities- <a href="https://www.band-aid.com/products/for-kids">Bandaids</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wrapables-Juicy-Playful-Elastic-Accessories/dp/B01GQY1ZDO">Hair ties</a>, razors, hairspray, lotion, socks, journals<br /><br />
10. Food and Random stuff- jewelry, perfume, stickers, books, games, pudding cups, chocolate truffles, oranges, rice krispy treats, cereal, juice boxes, nick knacks, paddy wacks<br /><br />
I guess my last two on the list were cop outs, since everybody already has traditional stuff they put in stockings. I was just ultra proud of my other ideas. Do you have any awesome stocking stuffer ideas to add? Mostly I'm just a total cheapo who likes to make stuff for people instead of buying it. <br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-44917170625418553652018-12-16T15:50:00.000-08:002018-12-16T15:50:32.903-08:00A few of my favorite thingsIn case you're in the market, I've come to appreciate certain tools we have at home. Things you use every day are important. If they don't work great, they make you hate. When they work awesome, they make your life blossom.<br />
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<a href="https://www.target.com/p/o-cedar-easy-wring-spin-mop-and-bucket/-/A-50335649?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Grocery+Essentials+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9030239&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrZLdBRCmARIsAFBZllEb3s4VLWqU38dUSli7GtoPAiZYaPskZIYhc05g1urXC-OoJOcqOKcaAk6pEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">Mop</a>- I've always wished I had a mop that was less disgusting to use. Something that didn't take much space; a mop that didn't get my hands dirty. This mop has made all my mopping dreams come true. You fill the bucket, use the foot pedal to squeeze the mop, and when you're done, you empty the bucket. I love mopping now and cannot think of an easier way to do it.<br />
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<a href="https://jet.com/product/Dyson-Ball-Multi-Floor-Origin-Upright-Vacuum-or-Fuchsia/562937478ce5485f9177d527f15c6859?jcmp=pla:ggl:deal_roc_gen_appliances_a1:appliances_vacuums_floor_care_vacuums_a1:na:PLA_1491629516_57191647163_pla-574035259919_c:na:na:na:2PLA15&pid=kenshoo_int&c=1491629516&is_retargeting=true&clickid=ed8de5d1-05db-4276-bfdd-c1ac2f776299&kclid=ed8de5d1-05db-4276-bfdd-c1ac2f776299&gclid=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfPBF34rH-65j1Rab1FxP45sgxrS94qiXR7FBUvqznStDSbX4XCfNQBoC6PgQAvD_BwE">Vacuum</a>- I like being able to see the dirt that my vacuum picks up. It's not a heavy vacuum, but it does pick up most of the dirt around. It's simple to take apart and you don't have to buy bags for it. Very nice. If you've ever wished you'd brought your vacuum to clean someone else's house, you might have a good vacuum.<br />
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<a href="https://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring-wwcm200-double-waffle-cone-maker-120v/929WWCM200.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfF7IjEzfI4pZLCTwHu_bQdAbe7amf1GyuUUWQd3X1ruJTzgBIB2X4BoCdYoQAvD_BwE">Waffle Maker</a>- Charles loves making waffles. Our babies love waffles. Really, is it possible to hate a soft and delicious waffle? Yesterday we had a church Christmas party. Pancakes were the dish of choice, but Charles couldn't help himself. He volunteered to make cloud waffles and thank goodness he did, because they were ultimate and popular. No waffles remained at the end. This waffle maker makes two at a time. We've had it five years and we love it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.cutco.com/#sm.0000080vx6bu23crcuggozcyttzag">Knives</a>- I never realized how wonderful it was to have a decent knife, until I cut vegetables at a food shelter for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Wow, what a difference. I certainly wished I had my own knives on that day. That wasn't the first time I've wished for my own knives and it certainly wasn't the last time.Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-73362131638941393532018-09-17T14:29:00.002-07:002018-09-17T14:29:48.236-07:00Sister Bake-offIt has begun. The time for eating pumpkin cookies is upon us once again. Usually, I just google pumpkin cookies and make the one with the highest ratings. However, this year two of my sisters have insisted they have the perfect pumpkin cookie recipe to rival all others. Since they both insisted theirs was the best, I decided to do a bake-off and decide which recipe truly was the best.<br />
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Honestly with food, everyone has preferences. I myself like soft cookies, but other people like crunchy cookies. In the pumpkin cookie world, soft and chocolate-filled trumps. I, like my sisters, am a chocolate miser. However, with these cookies, it is an essential ingredient, so I allowed myself to splurge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpSvUPxF0KbhGd59TDipbmEY1X2k7r9F5L1HkQ2-DRWOB-daaxoas8yVloWrnm2TlkaY6j5-FvWC0NE0QwiZS9zE7pt6pBXs2g5N2vOlm67EXnET5My5L9-VtZKnnxjiEbvAIgaAMUfg/s1600/20180917_113225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpSvUPxF0KbhGd59TDipbmEY1X2k7r9F5L1HkQ2-DRWOB-daaxoas8yVloWrnm2TlkaY6j5-FvWC0NE0QwiZS9zE7pt6pBXs2g5N2vOlm67EXnET5My5L9-VtZKnnxjiEbvAIgaAMUfg/s320/20180917_113225.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The dough, recipe and cookies on the left are Bonnie's. The dough, recipe, and cookies on the right are Sarah's.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5NRoG0XHWrK0V36dcyuHwMjTfJj2GDbpXtheRtNnjzjbcYsGVUerqAizrDvp3rlRQNwvAAq6-eg7uGUTDDpNeNf-fAOugQtFgq5Byb-QHJuPKi7vhyphenhyphenZ_wA7391hgjl49Tvig2xh_TX4/s1600/20180917_113451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5NRoG0XHWrK0V36dcyuHwMjTfJj2GDbpXtheRtNnjzjbcYsGVUerqAizrDvp3rlRQNwvAAq6-eg7uGUTDDpNeNf-fAOugQtFgq5Byb-QHJuPKi7vhyphenhyphenZ_wA7391hgjl49Tvig2xh_TX4/s320/20180917_113451.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduA3HxN41jQquVjhHHjGTOZv11mnc3pXMREEmwtJYHzOHvHge2n0uMtOd42QEZ_O1Y1CPGu_Op8EP4koiTxttJHh_F9GngBRK3flmdVGodw522GKG_QoOKpp3V2QiMCFHivKAELVrlPE/s1600/20180917_133728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduA3HxN41jQquVjhHHjGTOZv11mnc3pXMREEmwtJYHzOHvHge2n0uMtOd42QEZ_O1Y1CPGu_Op8EP4koiTxttJHh_F9GngBRK3flmdVGodw522GKG_QoOKpp3V2QiMCFHivKAELVrlPE/s320/20180917_133728.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdFn4_0tvqIUKxDne7ld4qj5mpUG0IkQ22Yfz6kaWSmfauoxtl98wSVJYlDndgKQy-mBo91RM2Z12hKQhEIFjRrVsn-f6QL_jbrLzWK93YfQ5wEL-hqXZqRnyaeXI0cqh1GtGSDIfKsY/s1600/20180917_135404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdFn4_0tvqIUKxDne7ld4qj5mpUG0IkQ22Yfz6kaWSmfauoxtl98wSVJYlDndgKQy-mBo91RM2Z12hKQhEIFjRrVsn-f6QL_jbrLzWK93YfQ5wEL-hqXZqRnyaeXI0cqh1GtGSDIfKsY/s320/20180917_135404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While I was making the cookies, I noticed they mainly have the same ingredients. Bonnie's cookie dough had more moisture. Since I put the dough in the fridge before baking, that kept the cookies from melting too much in the oven. I cooked them together at 350 for 15 minutes and they turned out equally soft, with almost identical texture and taste. Sarah's cookies had a little more spice in them because instead of 2 tsp of cinnamon, she told me to put in 1 tsp cinnamon and then 1/4 tsp of cloves, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. </div>
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As the judge of these cookies, I declare them almost exactly the same, with Sarah's a tiny bit more spicy.</div>
<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-7364456855483303472018-06-24T23:03:00.003-07:002018-06-24T23:18:32.565-07:00Happy Birthday Son! And Daughter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Technically, my babies do not actually turn one until July 6th, however, since we are moving to Tucson, AZ on Friday, we figured a little early celebration wouldn't hurt us one little bit. These aren't going to be in any kind of order, but I figure my descriptions out of order will be just as good.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ_e2reoY4Gm0dtcv96A0zhfwyHnEbVjOX-yB_asm5w3f2k7qtgs2TIBwoS_KEkRV5EZGKOdauEe-yPFORE4dVFLgemS7iaQ0jd5V4A-Qfmgk-EvZXXKY8_OViYRiygG_MtNqPmyxdsM/s1600/20180605_163622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ_e2reoY4Gm0dtcv96A0zhfwyHnEbVjOX-yB_asm5w3f2k7qtgs2TIBwoS_KEkRV5EZGKOdauEe-yPFORE4dVFLgemS7iaQ0jd5V4A-Qfmgk-EvZXXKY8_OViYRiygG_MtNqPmyxdsM/s320/20180605_163622.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
This is a picture on our porch of Cordy bear. She is 11 months old and we love her to pieces. My sister gave us these adorbs hair clips. They are easy to put in and Bruce just loves pulling them right out again. Probably because they are so beautiful.<br />
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Bruce is such a sweetheart. If I put him on the front porch step, he will sit and kick his little legs. He waves from the step and waits for me. It melts my heart every time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7FR5JAxEozvevdDRbxu0qmdeklRSI41ermV7XF80TWOBeE-kCzkapHK6qdMptXfyVUlmOz0f8_QoTlLooCNgTDvvwQ8HhTRqYqxeUGZ3TDYjSr8C_yqIlnrvmEykqCm97AGSIDFuqPA/s1600/20180623_175652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7FR5JAxEozvevdDRbxu0qmdeklRSI41ermV7XF80TWOBeE-kCzkapHK6qdMptXfyVUlmOz0f8_QoTlLooCNgTDvvwQ8HhTRqYqxeUGZ3TDYjSr8C_yqIlnrvmEykqCm97AGSIDFuqPA/s320/20180623_175652.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Our friend Holly is so fun. She visits us. We eat treats and watch movies together. We also do crafts.<br />
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The Ruiz's are some of our favorite people. They are such a caring bunch and thoughtful to boot. They were also kind enough to host the babies' one year celebration and our going away party. I was in charge of decorating and realized finally why party planning committees usually exist. Well played streamers and balloons. Well played.<br />
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The Applins are super fun as well. We love to see them and play with them, but since we don't leave the house as often anymore, we didn't get to hang out with them as much as we would have liked. Charles worked with Brad though, and really enjoyed his time at Tapestry Solutions, learning valuable skills like nerf battles and other such top secret shenanigans.<br />
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Flor and Heidi are more friends we didn't hang out with as much as we would have liked. However, luckily we did see them at girl's nights at Kiwi's house. They would also complement me on my cooking and make me feel really good about myself. Everyone needs friends like that.<br />
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Our favorite pharmacist, just hanging out with Mark and remembering good times.<br />
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Isabelle is such a fun and inclusive person. I am so glad we have such good friends here in San Luis Obispo.<br />
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Our friends the Krafts also came to celebrate with us. We love their sweet faces too and are so lucky to know such rock stars.<br />
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Really, I did want to invite everyone I know here in SLO to the party, but didn't want to overrun the Ruiz's house. It was a fun, laid-back celebration and we got to visit for a while. Mostly though, we just made sure the kids didn't get into anything they shouldn't and ate cake. Well, some of us ate cake.<br />
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Cordy didn't eat her cake, she just crumpled it into nothingness with her hands. If you've seen the 5 Instagram videos, you'd see it took them a while to understand what was expected of them. Bruce actually never really got into it. He carefully picked off cereal pieces and ate a tiny bit of frosting. He actually preferred the watermelon we gave him to snack on. Secretly, it pleased me very much to see how they resisted the idea of making a mess. I guess that shows what a food control freak I am with these babies. We live in a carpeted enclosed space though, so I do it to keep our apartment sanitary.<br />
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The beginning shot, before Cordelia played smash and Bruce delicately enjoyed his snack.<br />
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Our friend Kim, who lovingly did our laundry for ages and taught us all sorts of great lessons about marriage and families. What a great teacher and friend!<br />
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Our Costco cake specially ordered. I wrote "Can you do a spaceship please?" That's all the direction they got and I was insanely pleased with the result. Thanks Costco! It looked (and tasted) great!<br />
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Our friends the Longs! We love them and their pizza nights. We also love their friendship and massages. Karol is also an<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Karol-Long-Usborne-Books-More-Independent-Consultant-571617026553599"> Usborne</a> book consultant. If you're looking for books, she's your lady.<br />
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These are the moon cakes I made for the babies. I used <a href="https://www.thingsforboys.com/2011/11/sugar-free-carrot-and-date-cake.html">this </a>recipe for the cake and made cream cheese with yogurt frosting. I also added about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to make it semi-palatable. Apparently they weren't as good as they look. I did substitute baby food for the dates and coconut oil for the coconut. Honestly, I tried Bruce's again today and threw it away. I am comfortable with the idea that I didn't load my babies up with sugar on their birthday though.<br />
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Cordelia mutilating hers with a couple nibbles in between and Bruce taking a piece of cereal here and there for munching was fine by me. I don't know if we caught it very well on camera, but Bruce did tentatively try and put his whole mouth on the cake. He reconsidered this methodology, and ended up taking very careful assessments of that cake.<br />
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Here are my three sweet babies before bedtime. Look at those sweet smiles.<br />
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And finally, this is a picture of Cordelia with her bangs in her face. This is what I see every morning first thing- a big smile and hair in her eyes. Bruce is also usually in the background, semi-patiently grabbing our toes and telling us to wake up.<br />
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This was taken today. Charles spider-cocooned himself and the babies didn't even notice he was on the ground. Maybe I'll try this one day when I want to suffocate myself during a Sunday nap.Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-69425125178092619212018-06-24T16:25:00.000-07:002018-06-24T16:28:09.630-07:00Nearer my God to thee- A talk given by me in church 6/24/18<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">How have my life experiences brought me closer to Jesus Christ?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modification of a Ground Based Atomic Oxygen Simulation Apparatus to Accommodate Three Dimensional Specimens. Charles' talk- if he'd been assigned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When hard things happen in my life, I get mad. I think, "Why in the heck are these bad things happening to me? Am I being punished for past sins. Did I skip milking our goat Yaruba too often or was it my bad attitude as a teenager?" After thinking such things for a time and stewing over my bad luck, I eventually part the weeds of doubt and look over a pond of love and inspiration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am often in difficult straits, and after my initial anger, finally realize how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ actually love me. This love is manifested to me in three ways 1. By dispelling my fears 2. By guiding me through acute pain and sadness 3. By manifold demonstrations of love</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I. God's love for me manifested by-1. Dispelling my fears</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Topical Guide- Fear can have two meanings: (1) to fear God is to feel reverence and awe for him and to obey his commandments; (2) to fear man, mortal dangers, pain, and evil is to be afraid of such things and to dread them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. "Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts, and it will never transform us into people who love what is right and who want to obey Heavenly Father.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People who are fearful may say and do the right things, but they do not </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feel</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the right things. They often feel helpless and resentful, even angry. Over time these feelings lead to mistrust, defiance, even rebellion…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(God) wants us to reach out and take firm hold of the iron rod, confront our fears, and bravely step forward and upward along the strait and narrow path. He wants this for us because He loves us and because this is the way to happiness." Dieter F. Uchtdorf; Perfect Love Casteth out Fear; April 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C. Germany age 25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Danielle- What now? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a. Reasons not to: 18 months is a long time, talk to strangers, no flirting with boys, a lot of money</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">b. Pray about mission- resounding assurance answer was yes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Train to Florence Italy- fears magnified </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a. Saw Drew in the train station, testimony of His care</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D. Testimony- I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know our fears and the direct line to dispelling those fears</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">II. God's love for me manifested by- 2. Tender Guidance through personal times of acute pain and sadness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. Revelation 21:4- And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. "There are few of us, if any, who don’t walk the refiner’s fire of adversity and despair, sometimes known to others but for many quietly hidden and privately endured. Most of the heartache, pain, and suffering we would not choose today. But we did choose. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We chose when we could see the complete plan. We chose when we had a clear vision of the Savior’s rescue of us. And if our faith and understanding were as clear today as it was when we first made that choice, I believe we would choose again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore, perhaps the challenge is to have the kind of faith during the hard times that we exercised when we first chose." Richard C. Edgley; For thy Good; April 2002</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C. Most painful times of my life: Single life. Childlessness- Why? Foster Care. IVF 5x. Weeping. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D. Testimony- I know we experience specific, difficult things so we can learn specific, difficult lessons</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">III. God's love for me manifested by- 3. Manifold Demonstrations of love</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A. 1 John 4:19- We love him, because he first loved us</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B. " One of the strongest connections we have with our premortal life is how much our Father and Jesus loved us and how much we loved Them. Even though a veil was drawn over our memory, whenever we sense true love, it awakens a longing that cannot be denied. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Responding to true love is part of our very being. We innately desire to reconnect here with the love we felt there. Only as we feel God’s love and fill our hearts with His love can we be truly happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God’s love fills the immensity of space; therefore, there is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it. To do this, Jesus explained we must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, … soul, … strength, and … mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” (Luke 10:27)." John H. Groberg; The Power of God's Love; October 2004</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C. Specific acts of love shown to me: Meals brought, sorting piles of baby clothes, babysitting, midnight visits, work offered, laundry, visits from friends, giant stacks of movies loaned, baby holding, baby gifts, hugs, sweet words of encouragement, help with moving, money for expensive IVF treatments, and loads of other manifestations of love</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Excerpt from Charles' acknowledgements- " (I would like to acknowledge) Merilee, for supporting me since my community college years, for blessing our home with two children, and for being what has made everything worth it." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D. Testimony- We receive so much love from everywhere, it is sometimes overlooked, but I know the Lord loves each and every one of us. Through these manifestations of God's love in my life, I see how my experiences bring me closer to Him and his son Jesus Christ. </span></div>
Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-49659861973743417942018-05-26T19:18:00.000-07:002018-05-26T19:18:20.004-07:00Clean up-<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Today I made a cbj cake. That's <a href="http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/fudgy-chocolate-layer-cake-with-raspberry-chambord-whipped-cream-323664">chocolate butter jelly cake</a>. Mostly I did it because Charles does not like fruit with his chocolate cake and I can't eat peanut butter. So I made this cake halfsies. It is so sweet, but I liked it. </div>
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This is a couple of babies lounging. People love when they put their feet up. They comment on that and on their blue eyes. Last week at Institute, Cordelia spewed orange baby food all over Charles. She also threw up on a girl holding her a little earlier that night, but we thought it was a fluke. Like when they spit up randomly. Luckily we found out it wasn't a fluke...on Charles.. instead of on one of our friends. Thanks for that. It did come out in the wash.<br />
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We found out after a couple of fevers and a visit to the doctor's office, that we had gathered up sicknesses like mommy's rose bouquet from Mother's Day. Cordelia and Bruce both had hand foot mouth disease, Bruce had a bad sore throat and cough, Cordy had an ear infection and a bacterial infection on her nose, and they both had terrible yeast infections. It was a rough week, but we are getting better.<br />
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Feeding times are fun to do. Bruce and Cordelia are expressing more independence in their food choices. Bruce refuses to eat baby food from a spoon- his favorite expression of displeasure is hitting the spoon and knocking food everywhere. Mommy loves that trick.<br />
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Cordelia loves giving us the fishy face and shakes her head when we offer her food. She also wants to feed herself, but refuses to eat anything lumpy. That limits her options for consumption. She will eat cheese. Besides that, we are hit and miss on foods. Surprisingly, she and Bruce are also gradually losing interest in nursing. Maybe that will push them on to trying new foods.<br />
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This is the lovely red skittle slurpee at Taco Bell. If you get it between 2-5 pm, it costs $1. Yum, drinking red skittles is de best. Especially when the babies are asleep.<br />
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Speaking of sleeping babies, this happened one morning when Bruce wouldn't go back to sleep after nursing. He played with Daddy and then fell asleep in his high chair while Daddy was dancing for him.<br />
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Thanks for a wonderful Mother's Day Charles! He made me a wishing machine and got me roses and chocolate. He made me breakfast and lunch. He made me lemon cookies and let me sleep in. Well, the babies were pounding on the door and screaming, but he did his best.<br />
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This picture is a little fuzzy, but makes me think of a mad scientist. I love it. Cordy pulls out her hair if I don't pull it back during meal times. Recently she's been pulling off the hat, but barrettes still work.<br />
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Sunday clothes.. right before we stripped these babies down and fed them lunch<br />
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<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-48974138797629143752018-05-11T21:02:00.001-07:002018-05-11T21:02:40.913-07:00Calling all Hairpins-You ladies know all about this. I am missing some hair bands and pins. Where do they go? Who knows- besides the hair supply dragon who lives in the wind, the one responsible for eating them.<br />
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I should admit that it's actually been a while since I invested in hair articles, but they have dwindled down to three or so.<br />
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Cordelia needs big barrettes for her beautiful bangs these days, or they go straight into her eyes. She used to wear a food hat for meals, so her hair didn't get gooped but recently she has been de-capitating herself during meal times. Luckily, it's just her cap and not her actual head.<br />
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Bruce has been feeding himself or shunning the spoon and gooping the floor. Thanks Bruce. It's not my favorite habit, but I should be used to it by now. Instead of spooning food into his mouth, I have been chopping up kids bits and letting him feed himself. Tonight, he dropped one morsel into his chair. Somehow, he got every other piece into his mouth. He's very advanced. Obviously.<br />
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Both of my precious cherubs charge doorways and open baby gates. They love eating paper and toes. Neither one can stand alone for long, but they both can do it. They still do better out and about, but lately it has become more difficult taking them to un-babyproofed places. Exhibit A: Book club- with a giant magazine table. Exhibit B: Play dates with fridge magnets. Exhibit C: Enrichment with random food or paper bits on the floor.<br />
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Charles finished his master's thesis today. We are excited to see more of Daddy. I myself have been packing a couple of boxes a week. We have reserved an apartment in Tucson, AZ and hope to move around June 30th.<br />
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No, our new apartment does not have laundry in the unit. At least we do have it on-site though. We will hopefully last like that a little longer until we can buy a house. Thankfully, the cost of living in Tucson is lower than here in San Luis Obispo, CA.<br />
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Turns out we eat a lot of <a href="https://www.cookingclassy.com/neiman-marcus-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/">Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies.</a> We have been trying to get through our food storage before we move.<br />
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Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-31705284498202620912018-05-11T19:54:00.001-07:002018-05-11T19:54:55.418-07:00Posting a post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cordelia has been holding herself up on all sorts of things these days. It is weird to see her so independent and yet still tiny.<br />
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This was the second time sister pooped, flipped over, peed on the changing table, and then smeared poo all over her leg. So she had a bath. She is currently adverse to being changed on her back. So is Bruce. It makes changing their diapers rather<br />
difficult.<br />
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This is what I woke up to on the last morning of our week of house sitting for our friends the Mays. Their dog Charlie ate some chocolate coins and apparently didn't unwrap them all the way first. So it all came back up.<br />
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Bruce is holding his older sister Sherry with love.<br />
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Cordy loves her sister too. I had planned to take a picture with her and Sherry when she was born, but I kept forgetting. Oops.Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-38944651991295607082018-02-01T14:28:00.000-08:002018-05-11T19:55:55.080-07:00It's been a bit-My babies are a week away from being 7 months. How in the world did that happen? We are doing well and trying to declutter our house before our move to Tucson, AZ in July. I am also supposed to be researching apartments in the area, but I just make food and watch babies all day.<br />
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Bruce is a smiley guy at home and shy in public. He can sit up by himself now and still loves nursing all day every day. He's 18 lbs, jibber jabbers all over the place, and loves to cuddle his mommy.<br />
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Cordelia is smiley too and doesn't hold back for anybody. She has tons of hair and the longest eyelashes around. She can almost crawl and is all sorts of spry. She's always contorting herself and every once in a while gets stuck or face plants.<br />
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October I spent every spare moment watercolor painting for the craft fair I've done the last couple of years with my friends Holly, Sarah, and Kiwi. We also did body scrubs and hair bows. Mostly we sold body scrubs, but it was nice to have painting practice to air out my creativity. I also painted a couple of things for my brother Grant's Christmas present and my Dad.<br />
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The babies came with me to the craft fair and were extremely well behaved. They are usually like that when we go out. They do very well, then they crash at home. It is a good alternative to crashing while we're still out.<br />
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Thanksgiving was fun for us. We went down to the LA area to see Charles' brother Paul's family and my friend Peggi. It has been a long time and it was awesome to meet her charming husband and see her super cool house. Those were the best of times. The worst of times were the 6.5 or so hours it took to drive in pre-Thanksgiving traffic. Our babies did not do well on their first long car trip. We had screaming babies for most of it. It was also a time when we reflected often on the importance of acquiring baby car mirrors.<br />
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Christmas was another fun time to see Paul and family. We also saw my cousin Caryn and her family. We had loads of good food and had some fantastic conversations.<br />
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We flew to Houston after a couple of days and the flights were uneventful. In the airport, we did have some serious delays because of airport security and got to the gate as everyone was boarding. We even got there 2 hours before the flight was scheduled to leave. It turns out if you get stuck in a line where preferred passengers cut, you do not get processed in a timely manner.<br />
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I almost lost my cool a couple of times, but the worst was when the lady hand-inspecting our carry-on bags went on a 10 minute break midway through checking our stuff after 6 groups of preferred flyers had cut and my babies were starting to fuss. We just stood there.. for like 30 minutes. It was the ultimate in ridiculous situations.<br />
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The silliest part was the guy who checked our id at the beginning changed stations multiple times and was there to help us take apart all our baggage to go through the x-ray machine. He then finally changed stations again, after the lady took her 10 minute break, and hand-inspected our baggage. Thank goodness we didn't miss our flight.<br />
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When we got to Houston, our babies had fevers. We took them separately to the emergency room and got ear infection and flu medicine for them both. We would have taken them together, but Bruce didn't have a high temperature until the morning after we took Cordy. So that was fun. Poor Cordelia, she was still dealing with acid reflux issues and teething, so she had a pretty miserable vacation. Bruce had cold rags on his head for a couple of days, but he also sleeps more than his sweet sister.<br />
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We watched many movies and played fun family games. We had a rootbeer judging contest. These babies are now eating mashed food and almost crawling. I might've cried yesterday because Bruce was cuddling next to me and it was so sweet.<br />
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Netflix original movie review<br />
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<u>True Memoirs of an International Assassin</u>- So good. It was about an author who got kidnapped because of a book he wrote.<br />
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<u>Bright</u>- So bad. I got an hour into the movie and had to turn it off. It was a thinly veiled movie completely about racism. Not an interesting plot. Acting blah. It has Will Smith, so I was expecting a more interesting watch.<br />
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Other movies<br />
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<u>Stonehurst Asylum</u>- I don't like scary or gory movies. This wasn't either, just suspenseful. The ending was unexpected in a great way.<br />
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<u>Think Like a Man-</u> A funny and silly romantic comedy about how to make different types of men commit.<br />
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<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-65069266205429680012017-09-03T17:44:00.003-07:002017-09-03T17:46:32.703-07:00To two too cute cuties and the handsome one<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I just delved into my phone. It turns out someone took a million pictures of my babies with it. So I posted some of those pictures. We have Breanna and Stacy here currently holding babies. It's loads of fun. We've have a lot of help before and since these babies were born. Our ward has visited, brought meals, done our laundry twice a week, and just dropped by to help. We've also had family here constantly since these babies arrived and it has made all the difference.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaT8cy1rain3LzOSudw7kI7hRgY9fMlgcU3B1QH3jJ-v11mRESC2U9LUqEjCsM1OJC9Y-oxA2g01Z_-UfD6MmCCBd1xf1_c5XYKh87HKv-j5Enx6o7yQmTY5RwkjhDQSny-Jv7IpihQ1Y/s1600/IMG_20170903_164736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaT8cy1rain3LzOSudw7kI7hRgY9fMlgcU3B1QH3jJ-v11mRESC2U9LUqEjCsM1OJC9Y-oxA2g01Z_-UfD6MmCCBd1xf1_c5XYKh87HKv-j5Enx6o7yQmTY5RwkjhDQSny-Jv7IpihQ1Y/s320/IMG_20170903_164736.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have recently experienced the joys of spit up. See below for an artistic rendition of love by regurgitation.<br />
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Skinny jeans never looked so good.<br />
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I don't want to brag, since it was such a hard road to get there. However, I started at 155 lbs, weighed in at 174 lbs right before birthing these babies, and am currently at 138 lbs. That's what constant heartburn and twin cramming does to you. Here I am at 2 months post partum.<br />
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Boxing lessons anyone?<br />
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My Dad, taking care of babies for 3 weeks.<br />
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Cookie, holding babies all week and loving it.<br />
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Epic Christmas part deaux 2015 never before seen pictures.<br />
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Charles and I recently celebrated our 4 year anniversary. Charles and I have the same anniversary as the sister/brother-in-law pictured here. This year, he was in Tucson for our anniversary and his birthday. Since my sister was in town, and since we share a wedding anniversary, we went to see Valerian. It was actually pretty good, even though everyone who we told hadn't liked it. Thanks for letting us see an alien movie and celebrate our anniversary without you Charles!<br />
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St. Patrick's Day is a great day to slaughter muppets. Delicious eats. Charles is a great cook and a thoughtful husband. These pictures are from 2 years ago, but he is as wonderful as ever. Thanks for cooking for me my whole pregnancy, even when I couldn't eat anything you made Charles. Also, thanks for finishing my breakfasts when you cooked me one egg and I couldn't fit it all in my shrunken stomach. You are a pregnant lady's dream!<br />
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These are the before and after pictures from when I donated my hair in 2014. Charles was shocked and appalled by my haircut. He now texts my hairdressers and pretends to be me. In those texts he tells them not to let me do any drastic cuts. Thanks for watching out for me and keeping me from making silly decisions Charles.<br />
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This is a picture from when I visited my friend Emily for my other friend/mission companion Astrid's wedding. We had so much fun and I had an awesome visit. Thanks for letting me visit Utah without you for 4 days Charles. I know it was hard for you to sleep without me shoving you to the edge of our queen-sized bed.<br />
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Charles is an expert waffle making machine and makes them for all our guests. They are fluffy, freeze well, and taste divine. Thanks for being such a handsome waffle maker for your sweet wife and visitors.<br />
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This was the time I got a wax. It was spectacular and totally worth it. I will one day do that again. My friends are supreme weirdos, just like me. Thanks for being weird with me Charles.<br />
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My sisters and I had the opportunity to paint together one day. It was the best. Charles has always been supportive of me, my family, my artistic development, and all other aspects of my development. Thanks for letting me grow Charles!<br />
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When I was cleaning a Cutco spreader in our sink our first year of marriage, I cut my finger. Charles no longer lets me open cans, clean knives, cut large items, or grate cheese. Thanks for protecting my appendages Charles! I love you and have kept the rest of my fingers because of you!<br />
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Happy 4 years and 2 babies to us my sweet husband! I love you so much and can't wait to pick you up and take you home on Saturday. Woot! Love you my little Reeses addict! Oots poots!Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-56647635221426379032017-06-02T12:31:00.000-07:002017-06-02T12:31:37.770-07:00Betting on Baby"Call me Judgy McJudgerson. When I was younger, living in a family of 10 kids, I always assumed every womb had the same capacity for creation. I would see people with one or two kids and think what a shame it was that they only had a few children. We had so much fun as a large family and who's going to clean the house with only 4 people there?<br />
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Now I am older and have heard the stories of many parents that longed to have more children, their own children, or the opportunity to be a parent.<br />
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It is a hard thing to learn by experience. However, I have found out I'm pretty good at keeping secrets. The steps to keeping a secret:<br />
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1. Do not anticipate any sadness<br />
2. Have someone dare you to not tell anyone<br />
3. Tell half truths<br />
4. Cry at home<br />
5. Assume that when you finally tell others, they will be impressed by your fortitude<br />
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I attended a support group for women going through the process of In-Vitro Fertilization(IVF). There were a couple women who had messed up their medications- oops. That means they had to start the process over again- an expensive and devastating mistake. There were a couple women starting again because sometimes it doesn't work the first time. Imagine giving your body magic pills and telling it to make way for a baby. Sometimes that magic just doesn't work.<br />
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There was a woman there who was doing the process alone. She wanted a baby, was in her forties, and her husband was done working toward that dream. So she was in the middle of a divorce and trying to have a baby alone. She advised all of us newbies to tell family and friends about our experiences, so they could grieve with us and rejoice with us.<br />
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It is a hard secret to keep. However, we didn't want to let our family and friends down when we didn't have news right away. So, instead of telling everyone the good news, we are telling everyone the bad news. This sadness is hard to share, but it is harder to keep the grief inside."<br />
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The paragraphs you have just read are from a draft I wrote up a while ago, but never published. As you now know, the magic pills/injections finally worked for us and we are expecting twins sometime in July. It was a hard road. The nice thing about riding on gravel, is you get used to the bumps after a while.<br />
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Infertility is a hard road, but the craziest part about all of it, is pregnancy is also a hard road. Surprise, surprise.<br />
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Now, instead of shooting myself with needles every day, I am sitting at home watching movies. Sadly, I cannot eat bon bons while doing so, because pregnancy has put me off chocolate. Oh the sacrifices we make for our children.<br />
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I've been relegated to couch potatoism by my doctor, since I've gone into the hospital 3x in the last 3 weeks due to regular contractions. Did you know that having contractions at month 7 in your pregnancy is actually quite normal? One doctor explained it as capacity readiness- once your uterus hits a certain capacity, it is ready to empty itself. Amen, uterus. However, with twins, that can happen sooner than you want, since there are two babies sharing the same space. We're currently 31 weeks in, but would like to at least make it to week 36 before they pop out.<br />
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So I sit on our couch, and dream about eating tomatoes, chocolate, oranges, Mexican food, spicy food, and really, any regularly-sized portion of any food that currently gives me heartburn.<br />
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Sadly, my heartburn digest is quite extensive. So I sip from my water bottle and keep a tums tally on my hand as the weeks pass me by.<br />
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We have been very blessed with baby items. Our babies will be the best dressed babies in the world. Our cars seats were ordered and sent back because they were too large to fit in our Honda Fit. Strange. We are currently arranging our one bedroom apartment into a baby paradise. We have had lots of help- people have come to clean, organize, return items, and to store some items for us.<br />
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I have also been dreaming of having these babies, and them being old enough to talk. Last night my dream involved having twin girls- whose names I could not remember and had to ask family members multiple times what they were. Perhaps in my subconscious I am nervous that they will grow up too fast. I had another dream recently about birthing my babies and having them be around the age of 2 years. Very peculiar.<br />
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One nice thing about being on partial bed rest is I can sleep from 8-8. I still wake up like 5x a night to use the bathroom, but I usually fall asleep pretty quickly again. I figure if I can stock up on 12 hour nights, perhaps I won't be as tired when those babies come.<br />
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On my last trip into the hospital, I was given two bags of fluids. Apparently my baby pools needed some help to be refilled. While I was being re-hydrated, the lady in the room next to mine was screaming bloody murder. Ah, the joys of natural childbirth.<br />
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It is indescribably weird and beautiful to feel the aliens growing within me and moving around. I imagine their tiny hands resting against the inside of my belly and cannot reconcile those movements with two babies I will be meeting in the next two months.<br />
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I am most fearful of:<br />
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1. Painful birthing/recuperation<br />
2. Postpartum depression<br />
3. Ugly babies<br />
4. Babies that cry all the time<br />
5. Never leaving my house again<br />
6. Death<br />
7. Mucus<br />
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I am most excited about:<br />
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1. Eating food again<br />
2. Beautiful babies<br />
3. My own babies<br />
4. Visitors<br />
5. Tiny clothes<br />
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Those are not in any particular order, but do reflect some of my anticipated fears and joys. And now, some photos. Photographical proof that aliens do exist. One from the side:<br />
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One from the front- this one's Cordelia rubbing her eye<br />
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Here's a fantastic one of Bruce. We call it angry baby with monocle. </div>
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Poor Charles, he's so busy all the time. Sometimes life can make you ingenious. Here's what he did to wrap our bread loaves one night.<br />
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Here's how happy he was to have one more thing to do. Pregnancy, it's so easy for everyone involved. In case you were wondering, he just stuck them sideways in a pot and covered it in plastic wrap. We usually wrap them individually in plastic wrap.<br />
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That's a wrap!Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-87960390774598219842017-04-03T10:33:00.001-07:002017-04-03T10:33:13.235-07:00The Zipper Man-I've just realized <a href="http://www.butterwithasideofbread.com/2013/09/peanut-butter-fudge-cups.html">these</a> are very similar to peanut butter cookies topped with a kiss. However, they're just a little more exciting to eat. If we make them with almond butter, I can eat them too. And I do. However, I do not eat those in No Munchie March. It's not allowed.<br />
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I cleaned my brushes yesterday. What a pain- but so necessary. I know you were all wondering when that important event would occur.<br />
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Some more movie recommendations:<br />
<br />
1. Little Dorrit- 2008- Another lovely PBS mini-series<br />
2. Central Intelligence- 2016- I enjoyed most of this movie, although there was some bathroom humor. What can I say, I'm not a teenage boy<br />
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And now, on this day- which was actually supposed to be April 1st, but I'm a little behind- when so many unbelievable things are being proclaimed and such, Charles and I have our own little tidbit. We are having twins. One boy. One girl. Out of my own self. I'm 23 weeks and going strong. They are due August 4th, but they usually move the due date up a month for twins. So we're looking at July 4th as a day for much jubilation and other crowning achievements.<br />
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We are pleased as punch and have kept it under wraps for the shock value. Are you shocked? We are also a little shocked. Sometimes I still can't believe it, but the very real stretching of my abdomen is helping to convince me. <br />
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I was throwing up for a good month and a half 2-4 times a day at the beginning. When I started puking up blood, Zofran and I became best friends. I'm still taking anti-nausea drugs and am feeling a little better. Sadly the acid reflux demons have also made themselves known, so Charles and I are both on the feel better soon, eat whatever you can find, diet.<br />
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Before pregnancy, I did not realize the full import of how a woman's body changes during this blessed period of time. Nor did I realize how soon the discomfort of stretching and constipation would settle into my daily routine.<br />
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I can now feel daily kicks and jabs. In an early ultrasound, I saw one baby flip, punch punch, flip again, and do more punches- that's when it all started coming together. That's what's going on inside this cavern- tae bo every moment of every day and sometimes at night. In the midst of all the new hormones and the incalculable weirdness of feeling a tiny body inside of me- two in fact- we are thrilled.<br />
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In other wonderful news, mid-July Charles is starting a two month internship in Tucson, Arizona. He can't wait. The twins and I will stay in San Luis Obispo while he's gone, and enjoy all the wonderful visitors that babies bring. He has one more year of school until he's finished with his blended Master's program for Aerospace and then the world is our oyster. Woot.<br />
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I guess that's about all the good news you can handle right now. Here we will hopefully post some pictures and other fantastical elements of the joys pregnancy brings. Happy April Fool's Day! This isn't a joke and we're so glad it isn't! Consider this secret unzipped. HOopty HOop!<br />
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<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-83213186998544633442017-02-17T13:02:00.000-08:002017-02-17T13:03:19.605-08:00One with my clothes-"Another box of clothes", he said. "Not possible," I said. And yet, there it was, another box, full of my clothes. Turns out, Charles had no idea how many clothes I owned until we moved. After taking them out of multiple boxes, I realized I did not have a great idea either. Now I do.<br />
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Even now, after having realized how many clothes I possess, I still find myself wondering why I have such a limited docket. It seems to silly and yet, I own it.<br />
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And now, freebies. I love free things and you love free things. Sorry the list isn't longer, but here are a couple of items I've found out in the last couple of weeks.<br />
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1. T-mobile Tuesdays- this is a free app that you have to check on Tuesdays. When I first got the app, I got weekly free Wendy's frosties. I didn't care much, because we don't have a close Wendy's here. However, I have lately been watching a free movie on Tuesdays and that is awesome. I got free socks last Tuesday and some free food on other weeks. It's a pretty sweet deal, I just have to remember.<br />
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2. 7-11- this is a free app that you can utilize this month- Feb to get a free small slushy every Saturday. I don't know what they're doing in March, but I got a barcode to scan last Saturday and I intend to get another free slushy this week. I'm a sucker for slushies.<br />
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That's it for now. Enjoy it while you can. Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything- September was quite a long time ago.<br />
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However, you will be comforted to know that it has been raining here, so we won't be running out of water next week. Also, I got a hair trim, so my ends are looking healthy once again.<br />
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<u>Movies to see</u><br />
Jason Bourne- pretty good, he does get one answer from that movie<br />
World of Warcraft- I never played the games, but thought it was fun to watch<br />
X-Men Apocalypse- the new mutant movie<br />
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<u>Movies to skip</u><br />
Legend of Tarzan- I wasn't terribly invested<br />
Suicide Squad- Meh<br />
Jack Reacher II- Reminded me of Taken II, not as good as the first one and he's babysitting the whole movie<br />
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See you soon for another episode of News and Reviews. Love and Kisses!<br />
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<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-485980932826612872016-09-11T11:40:00.002-07:002016-09-11T11:40:30.610-07:00Poisoned by my own sweet presh-Today Charles offered me granola that had walnuts in it without thinking. And now I'm dead. Wait, no. I'm not dead, because here I am writing this blog. Whoa, that was a close one.<br />
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Well, today is another day like many others. We attended a sacrament meeting to hear a talk given by a girl named Sophia, that is going to Japan on a mission. She leaves Tuesday. It was a great talk. Before her talk, I noticed the two babies in front of us. And the other baby they announced that had been birthed this week by someone else. I might have started crying. That proves I should always bring tissues in my bag. I was without and sniffled for a bit. First world problems.<br />
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I never know what to say when people ask us how we're doing. We are doing well. Nothing terrible is happening with us, so life is great.<br />
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Yesterday I had a fun beach day with my friend Bre. She has a sweet wind tent we always set up on our beach days. It was a beautiful day. We remembered to apply sunscreen so nobody got Boom- Roasted. We stood on the water's edge as the kids ran around in the surf. The 1.5 yr old girl grabbed my face as she sometimes does, and squeezed the life out of it. I now have a crescent shaped scratch under my eye. She is sweet. We will not let her hold any puppies in the near future.<br />
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My hair doesn't currently have many split ends- hot topic. I have been going all natural. Some people call it laziness. Whatever. Anyway, the ends are still getting catchy. You know what I'm talking about ladies. A trim is in order.<br />
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I drew a dragon at church. We have started playing softball on Thursdays with Charles' work. We aren't doing so well, but it's still fun. Now, on to exercise plans- since we don't exercise much playing softball. Sorry Neal and Krissy, I don't think I have the marathon capacity in me. However, maybe some running should be incorporated into my life.<br />
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I think I have a fruit addiction. It's taking over our fridge and table. It is gradually subsiding, but last week we had the following fruit in our house of two occupants:<br />
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12 nectarines- they were gross and have been frozen for smoothie material<br />
1 giant watermelon- half of which we left covered on our counter and 4 days later had maggots growing in it. We didn't even try cutting the bad part off...we just threw it all away.<br />
12 kiwis- we are waiting for most of those to ripen<br />
6 giant mangos- so good<br />
1 papaya- Charles calls it poop fruit because it loosens your bowels and makes your outtakes smell like papaya<br />
1 container blueberries- actually, we have fresh and frozen blueberries<br />
6 bananas- frozen for banana bread<br />
1 bag frozen berries- these we also buy for smoothies<br />
rhubarb- is that a fruit? We bought that because it's hard to find here and we love strawberry rhubarb pies. In fact, who doesn't? It's frozen and waiting for perfection<br />
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Mmm, smoothies are so good.<br />
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I took my car to a car wash two weeks ago. The difference was incredible. It looks so good. Now I need to somehow take the PT cruiser to that car washing place. The professor is looking pretty cakes these days. I would wait for rain, but we haven't seen much rain here, so I'm not crossing my fingers.<br />
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Sorry our lives are so boring right now. Until next time on the Ward food index comes to town.Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-66250172682325606782016-08-17T11:03:00.000-07:002019-08-23T21:00:45.671-07:00Experiences Recommended<u>Movies</u><br />
Casino Royale (1967)- Terrible<br />
<br />
<u>Mini-Series</u><br />
Sons of Liberty(2015)- I liked it<br />
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<u>Food</u><br />
Thai Chicken- I liked it<br />
http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-chicken-breasts-108105<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Activities</u><br />
Making Mother's Day Cards- I liked it, but they didn't turn out very well<br />
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Ordering chick flicks on the public library website- Ideal. I love the <a href="http://www.blackgold.org/polaris/default.aspx">Black Gold</a> library system<br />
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Attending a Pink Party- Good times, despite the hardship that it accompanies. A pink party is a head shaving party for someone who has cancer. There was a lot of pink, a head shaving, and some sweet treats. Charles checked my head for hair when I returned. Thanks Banks!<br />
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Having my eggs harvested- Blah. Not my favorite.<br />
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<u>A Poem for Mothers</u><br />
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Mother, you are great.<br />
This phrase, can never my gratitude sate.<br />
I can't believe you endured sickness to incubate us all.<br />
That's more dedication than sewing a patchwork wall.<br />
<br />
If I learned anything from milking goats,<br />
it would have to be the "never having animals" vote.<br />
Chore charts and pizza skills,<br />
who, seeing all this, could possibly run for the hills?<br />
<br />
We know some are aliens,<br />
those kids that you cherish.<br />
Raising weirdos is a melee science,<br />
Never did our spirits perish.<br />
<br />
From these risks and lovely thoughts,<br />
we grew into great weirdos full of weird sauce.<br />
And now our own children are filling the world,<br />
you creative, guilt-free grandma of the squirrels.<br />
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Nicely done and never could be better,<br />
that wondrous mother of school taught letters.<br />
She's spooky wise and really funny,<br />
And she she taught us well with her husband lover bunny.<br />
<br />
Hooray for raising us to be so cool!<br />
Hooray for helping us appreciate gruel.<br />
Thanks for being tops Mom!<br />
Thanks for meeting Pops, Mom!<br />
<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-58482958207704014492016-07-30T17:05:00.003-07:002016-08-17T12:48:16.657-07:00Displeasure makes its rounds-Riot the anger glandsRemember that guy I really liked freshman year of college who threw a basketball at me from his balcony. After he promised to not throw it again, I threw it back to him. Do you know what he did? He threw it at me again. A basketball. Twice. That feeling is the same one I feel right now. Allegiant! How could you! I trusted you.<br />
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So in June, I visited Utah for my brother's wedding. I went with Charles and my sister Bonnie through Allegiant. We flew out to Utah with no problems. However, on the trip bad we had a terrible experience.<br />
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First, our flight was delayed for 3 hours. After loading onto the plane at 3:30 for a 3:45 departure, we sat on the plane for about an hour. Then we found out it wasn't going to be leaving, because the plane was too hot. So we sat in the airport until 6 pm. While everyone waited in the airport, which only has snack machines, all the babies and people milled around. When they finally announced that the flight was canceled, they also announced that we would receive flight wavers, hotel accommodations, taxi reimbursements, and food reimbursements-within reason.<br />
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Once the two taxes in front of the airport left, we waited for another hour before another set arrived. Worried that we might not get a room, we called my brother to pick us up from the airport. We got some food on the way and ate at his house.<br />
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The next day, we called a taxi service to pick us up. Although they had a flight full of people that needed rides, again, there were only three taxis sent. Besides being worried we'd missed our flight, we were also worried about all the other people waiting for rides to the airport. This might have been better accomplished with a bus. The taxi drivers were also making people pay more for the taxis that they usually would- since they assumed Allegiant was reimbursing us. So dishonest and inconvenient.<br />
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After waiting at the airport, with the same group of people, we loaded the plane. After another hour of waiting on the plane, they again announced we would not be leaving because of a missing placard. Since this placard was gone, our plane would be delayed. While we waited for another plane to arrive, three other flights went to their destinations without a hitch.<br />
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While we waited in the airport, water, soda and pizza was given out. However, the pizza ordered was for about half the people there. Those that got pizza, had about 2 slices, maybe- for an entire day waiting in the airport. We finally left that day at 3 PM and arrived at our destination a full 24 hours late.<br />
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Since Bonnie is glucose intolerant, we ordered Chinese at the airport. The attendants reassured this food would also be reimbursed.<br />
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After 24 hours of waiting in a crammed room with anxious people, calling our employers with apologies about not showing for work, inconveniencing them and our rides to and from the airport, we finally got home.<br />
<br />
We spent an additional $150 on the trip that we hadn't bargained for in food and taxis along with 3 people who didn't work for an entire day due to this kerfuffle.<br />
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I just received an email from Allegiant. They will be reimbursing us for our taxi rides- $50. They "do not reimburse for food". Thanks for lying to me Allegiant and for making me angry. Somebody find me a basketball.<br />
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<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-40280620800132554332016-07-30T17:05:00.001-07:002016-07-30T17:12:53.804-07:00ChewieThe most hilarious item I've heard this week is my nephew Austin's current prime target. This old champ wants to sew, with the help of his mother, a five foot tall Chewbacca doll. I will try it, because Chewie, and because I already have some material in my possession for such a task. What better project could it go to? Yeah, I know, you can't think of anything.<br />
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As with all my other stellar ideas, I am sure to follow this to completion and also post pictures. Just like always. Oh, speaking of pictures, here's a picture of my finished jean quilt. I told you I'd post this when it was done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-VTV6SLO8SxLxFJznxrWWTFwpumeneTjMId74LeUthqW-UPA0VIbIvJVWOIxMfSHIpA8gf9iaDtWmnsWEJDrir0EwGU8t2ChHX5HhCd0QVRG0QHsyaWHl7Bcgudt_PJVFEkRns_oKjU/s1600/KIMG0180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-VTV6SLO8SxLxFJznxrWWTFwpumeneTjMId74LeUthqW-UPA0VIbIvJVWOIxMfSHIpA8gf9iaDtWmnsWEJDrir0EwGU8t2ChHX5HhCd0QVRG0QHsyaWHl7Bcgudt_PJVFEkRns_oKjU/s320/KIMG0180.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RNCU8SjeXNHU4RvhI9mWTns-a3h8TxNc0oAnTtrXJX_8FNNZdYhhfHayCeIni6X4kr-fxVPNxCS0zr-nJ3k1wynp73Iwr3zhcABShaSvzhF6IVnO3dsQK14MDLUxHcdXD7MllNJFOBk/s1600/KIMG0177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RNCU8SjeXNHU4RvhI9mWTns-a3h8TxNc0oAnTtrXJX_8FNNZdYhhfHayCeIni6X4kr-fxVPNxCS0zr-nJ3k1wynp73Iwr3zhcABShaSvzhF6IVnO3dsQK14MDLUxHcdXD7MllNJFOBk/s320/KIMG0177.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you see, this is more of a twin blanket than a queen-sized blanket. Also, I suppose I should have made my bed before taking that picture. However, we are washing the sheets today- so it does seem kind of pointless to do that, doesn't it? I should say so. Anyway, now you have an idea of how my finished quilt looks. The back is all red flannel, so it's a warm blanket.</div>
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It's no match for the blanket it is resting on, that's for sure, but it was a first attempt, so put that part on the bottom of my quilting card.</div>
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I'd also like to shout out to the people whose blogs I read...you people are doing great. I know I've been slacking. Here are all my excuses, listed here for your convenience:</div>
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1. I lost my job and had to find another one- albeit I found another one through the mercy of my Father in Heaven and am working just across the street from my last job. It's a place called Really Right Stuff. They sell high-end camera accessories. I do billing, parts assembly, and inventory. </div>
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It has been quite challenging, but I really enjoy what I do. I also have been blessed to work with cool people at my new job. That makes going to work nice.</div>
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2. We moved. We did so across town, but we still had to pack all of our things into boxes and move them. The morning of the move, the Budget facility we had reserved the truck from...was not open. Thankfully, we had multiple friends come by our place with trailers and other vehicles that were indispensable in helping us move. Thanks for helping us move and clean our apartment, friends!</div>
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3. My brother, Canute, got married. We got to see a bunch of awesome friends and family while we were there for a couple of days and missed a couple of people we would've liked to see. It was a hot trip, we were delayed a day due to flight/Allegiant issues, and we were busy bees. Now I have another sister-in-law- welcome Jessica- so that's fun.</div>
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4. We went through another IVF cycle. This cycle finished this past week. We don't yet have the results- as most things do, this also takes time. We should find out the results in the next couple of weeks. As is customary with pregnancies, we will still probably wait a while to tell anyone if it's a positive pregnancy. Everyone gets excited for baby news, but it is terribly sad when you ask someone about their pregnancy and find out it ended in a miscarriage. So, in order to avoid all that, we'll just wait a little while to see how this cycle goes.</div>
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Our doctor and his office have gone out of their way to make us feel hopeful and have been extremely helpful. They are such kind people and I know their jobs are stressful. It's a tough job, but we're happy they have helped us get through the rough patches in this process. </div>
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5. Unpacking. You might think that's the same thing as moving. It's not. It's especially different when you move into a smaller place. We are now to a point where we do not stumble over boxes every day. It's a good place to be.</div>
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6. Visitors. We just had my parents come by for a visit last week. It was loads of fun, but didn't leave much time for blogging. </div>
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Anyway, that's all we've been doing for the past two months. Oh, and I finished my list of books for the summer adult reading program at the library. I will let you know what my cool prize is for reading so well. I read Mistborn and Graceling. I enjoyed Graceling as it was a sort of women kick butt bit of fiction. </div>
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Wait, wait. I forgot, someone did have a new baby this summer. Here it is: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAFMycOwd6hdNNiGfAroBZ9NTgrARxAC4dOgd8_E8oRW1mROiCII2vq7cMG76XiSN-QAiujfgjtRFqD1GkI-Ww9OXQSID-4kkRLka_tKjl9lekCwGnv3qu18Z_tDa4QgHrvOZGlL8N9A/s1600/KIMG0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAFMycOwd6hdNNiGfAroBZ9NTgrARxAC4dOgd8_E8oRW1mROiCII2vq7cMG76XiSN-QAiujfgjtRFqD1GkI-Ww9OXQSID-4kkRLka_tKjl9lekCwGnv3qu18Z_tDa4QgHrvOZGlL8N9A/s320/KIMG0181.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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You may be wondering what that is. That, my friends, is a 3D printer. Charles has been thirsting after one of these babies since his friend Sammy got one last year. Yes, and probably before that. Anyway, my parents brought it with them on their visit and Charles is ECSTATIC! I don't think he could've been any more pleased. </div>
Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-30029393742172181792016-04-20T16:26:00.001-07:002019-08-23T21:02:05.211-07:00Anticipation; The rise and fall of hope 101If you've been wondering how our baby growing endeavor is going, we have started another cycle of IVF. As you might have guessed, it was not successful in December. If you would like to fast for us, as a couple of people have offered to do, a good day for that would be May 1st.<br />
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We are doing another fresh cycle, and will hopefully harvest a boatload of healthy and viable eggs from my ovaries. We also hope there is not an overcrowding of the boat, as it is possible to have an overstimulation of your ovaries. In fact, the first thing I remember saying after waking up from my egg harvest in October, was that I must have produced inferior numbers. The lady next to me had about 10 more eggs than I had and Charles remonstrated me with the hazards of overstimulation and inferior egg quality.<br />
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Since my ovaries are going to be stimulated to grapefruit size in the next couple of weeks, much as a prized hen before a county fair, I now know what to expect. As a hint, it is rather a strange sensation. Rather like a rummage sale, wherein many treasures lie, but must first be discovered by frantic buyers. This might also be due to an inordinate amount of gas, for I was quite uncomfortable in the two weeks preceding my extraction.<br />
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I assume that unsettled and strange feeling of items being flung around inside of you lasts the entirety of an actual pregnancy.<br />
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Please pardon me if I present indelicate jokes regarding childlessness in your presence. I have already begun throwing out terrible jokes with wild abandon. Sorry Deane. It seems to be one of the many ways I cope with emotional instability. I will try and limit myself to hopeful jokes about future sleepless nights and children opening and spreading Costco-sized containers of peanut butter onto our, currently, white couch.<br />
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Thank goodness I get to choose a See's candy after my current three shots a day. Aman, I'm not sure how you did shots daily for 7 months, but you rock! Also, Penny is adorable, so I can see that it was worth it.<br />
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I see this also is a good incentive for me not to over-indulge in sweets so often. All Charles needs to do is remind me about diabetes treatments when I'm going crazy making cookie pizzas and Boston cream pies.<br />
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For anyone wondering about the intricacies of doing IVF, it's not nearly as terrifying as you imagine in the planning months. Once you start the process, feelings calm and you notice the process is quite bearable. The worst part is anticipation; the rise and fall of hope.<br />
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I have let a loss of hope get the better of me multiple times in this series of injections and rejection of embryos. However, as I remember the love of my Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ, I am also reminded of the instigator of pain and despair- Satan. He does not hold back from total brutality when wounding our spirits.<br />
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Jacob 7:5<br />
And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken.<br />
I hope that in your times of trial and weakness, though completely different from mine, that you let this scripture fortify you with the knowledge of our Father and his Son's love for you.<br />
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You can do hard things, even if: you're single, you don't feel confident, you stink at softball, you're sick of eating burritos, the top of your fridge is dusty, your children are aliens, you can't eat ice cream anymore. Sorry about all of those things, but you are awesome!Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5429426712876936862.post-17292721971752926562016-04-20T14:25:00.001-07:002019-08-23T21:02:36.150-07:00Zimbo nimboI haven't washed my hair in three days. We are in a drought right now. Since this has become a great excuse, I've found showering is an afterthought more than a given these days. I don't always take short showers, but when I do, I never shave my legs or wash my hair. Which also works well as a "Most Interesting Man in the World" meme.<br />
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Bonnie & Sarah, I have decided to stop plucking my grey hairs. You're welcome. The greatest part about these upstarts, is they are in the middle of the top of my head. I do not want a bald spot on my crown, but I also don't want a fluffy tuft of short grey feathers displayed in the forefront of my locks for the next 30 years.<br />
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Therefore, these interlopers will be occupying a premium spot in my otherwise velveteen doe locks until I begin to dye them. I'm not there yet. Anyway, if I'm going to start dying my hair, it's going to be a more interesting transition than brown. Perhaps kool-aid blue feathers will lend me some distinction. I dare say, this is a most interesting notion.<br />
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Yesterday was the best cub scout activity of all time. After creating a scale out of art supplies to weigh coins, we ate kettle corn and played Go Fish 10. This is Go Fish with face cards. You only use numbers except Aces equal 1 and the primary goal is matching two cards to equal 10. It's pretty fun.<br />
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It was not stressful and we had loads of good times. I tied with a scout for the first game with 8 matches and Charles won the second game. You cannot imagine the distraction potential of a bag of kettle corn.<br />
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We have been gifted 3 boxes of popcorn- due to a friend's move, and we brought a bag to share two weeks ago. That was the hour's only focal point for 4 boys at 7 pm. This week we learned our lesson and waited until the end to share the corn.<br />
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As a side note, this popcorn was not Popcornoplis, nor Emily popcorn. Therefore, I abstained. However, I have a dear friend who loves popcorn and now whenever I see it, I think of her. So now I've got all these Emily memory bags in my back closet. How's that for creepy?<br />
<br />Merileehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070855577906855619noreply@blogger.com0