Endless Summer

I forgot to mention that we went on a vacation in September. It was awesome and I even managed to get a few good shots even though my shutter keeps threatening to break in my camera. Looking back at them now reminds me of summer and those warmer days. So lovely.

Me and hubster went with Mat and Lora (our old roomie before she got married). I was excited when they invited us along.

We stayed near Santa Monica. I can't remember the last time I was there, so it was a nice change up to our normal CA trips.

The only issue with Santa Monica is I guess they had a high number of Sting Rays this past summer because when Jeff went out to swim with us (which, he never swims in the ocean), he was stung by a Sting Ray (of course this would happen when he finally come out to play with me in the water.)

It hurt. He was in a bunch of pain (The EMT/ Lifeguard that was called to the scene - and it was a huge scene - said that a ray's sting hurts worse than a bullet wound). But luckily, once we got back to the hotel, put his foot in an icy cold bath and gave him some IBU Profen, he was in much better shape and was able to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

That night we went to the Angels and Yankees game. It was awesome. The highlights for me were the Air Force Jets that flew by in the beginning of the game, my hot dog, the Angels winning over the Yankees, and the fireworks at the end.

The next day we got up and headed back to Randy's Donuts which we found the day before. Let me tell you if you're in the LA area near the airport, you should stop by. Best donut I've ever had!

After gorging ourselves on some baked goodness we went and saw Hollywood.

We saw the Chinese Theater

Saw the stars feet and hand prints, and stars. In true dork form this is Jeff by the Star Wars crew.

This is sadly the closest we got the the Hollywood sign. Jeff's foot injury took precedence over any hiking adventures we planned to see the sign up close.

And just when we thought our vacation bad luck was over, while we were taking funny pictures like this our car rental was being towed. We had to walk several blocks and pay several hundred dollars to get it out. If we had known we would have stopped the photo shoots and headed back to the car. It was around this time that I worried that our trip may be cursed- ha ha.

Lastly, we went to Seal Beach and just vegged, stopped tempting fate. Jeff skipped the beach for some R & R in the hotel and the BYU game, but I enjoyed my R & R on the beach with Mat and Lora. Maybe Jeff was the bad luck charm because nothing horrible happened at Seal Beach.

No worries, Jeff has since returned to the scene of the crime (the beach) with only minor flash backs. He did not get in the water though. I don't think I'll be able to talk him into that one again.

Jeff turns 29!

My lover turned 29. I can't believe we are getting so old. I still feel like I just graduated college. (Maybe that because Jeff is still in college- ha ha!) Any who, Jeff decided that he is so old that presents don't even excite him anymore. Honestly, the kid didn't want for anything. Not a bad place to be in, but I think also a sign of our increasing age.


Look at this guy- he is just so awesome! He wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

Since he didn't want any presents, he turned his attention to what other people want or need. In the end he decided that he wanted to participate in a Walk for Diabetes that was being held here in Las Vegas on his very birthday. Jeff has had 3 grandparents pass away from Diabetes and a string of other family members as well. We know it is a disease that will continue to effect our lives down the road.

He decided instead of people giving him gifts he would just have them sponsor or sign up to walk on our team for the Diabetes Walk. He is such a giver, all the time. I was so proud of him for making that decision and was totally on board! I signed us up for a team and named it "Birthday Boy" after our little (or rather big) Jeffery.

The next step was to get some supporters and team members signed up! I turned to the ever trusted Power Point program and made up some invites, turned it into a picture and went to Facebook to spread the word.

We planned on going to his Mom and Dads house for some food after the walk, since they live so close to the Springs Preserve, where the walk was being held. It was kind of hard to get people on board and signed up, not the easiest steps to follow on the hosts website, but in the end we had a good little group to walk with us on his Birthday!

To get people psyched for the walk, and show our appreciation for their participation in his unconventional birthday, Jeff and I thought up a couple simple Thank Yous for their participation. For the first one they got these Trail Mix thanks yous when I greeted them on the morning of the walk. The walk was at 8am, so a little food didn't hurt.

The next Thanks was a bandanna that Jeff's cousin screen printed our teams name on. We all wore white, while Jeff got the red one that said "Birthday Boy," since red was the color of the event in general.




Our walk lasted a whole of 10-15 minutes, but it was nice chatting with family along the way and being in a larger group with like minded people.


After the walk we used the Springs Preserve as a backdrop for a little photo shoot. Anywhere I go with my sisters and my camera we have to make time for photo shoots- ha ha. We got some good pictures. There really aren't any words, I'll let you bask in our dorky glory!












After the event festivities we headed back to his parents place for some grub. My camera started acting up at this point, so I don't have many pictures (just the one below), but this is where I had probably one of the BEST burgers of my life. Jeff''s brother Spence makes the best hamburgers!! So good!!!! (We also munched on healthy, low sugar options as well.)


After lunch we hit up a matinee to see Restless, then may or may not have movie hoped over to Real Steele. After that Jeff came home to watch the BYU game. It was a really nice day and Jeff even managed to get a present or two at the end of it all. I got him an hour message and we think with the other loot he got that we may go see Jersey Boys down on the strip. Jeff has wanted to see it for so long, so he is a super happy guy. I love him so much and am glad he had a nice Birthday.

Emily Henderson is AMAZING

I have to admit that I totally have a girl crush on Emily Henderson. I think she has such a wonderful quirky style. I am not totally 200% in love with everything she does, (sometimes we just have different tastes) but her ideas seem to be never ending. I wish I could have just the talent that is stored in one of her pinkies. I'm pretty sure that is all I would need, because she has talent in spades. (The pinkie thing all the sudden sounded kind of creepy to me? Hmm.)

Emily just published a massive gift guide on her blog. It has a ton of awesome stuff in it. If you can't think of what to get someone I would suggest looking here. Or just look here anyways because you can never have too many gift ideas!

Open publication - Free publishing

If for some reason the issue above doesn't work above visit her blog here.

Window Shopping Wednesday - Feeling NAUTIcal

I don't know why I've really felt like window shopping lately. Okay, who am I kidding, I have really felt like buying a lot of stuff lately but have settled just to window shop. I think it is the changing of the seasons or something that makes me feel like shopping. Or maybe the impending holiday season. At any rate, items with a more nautical flare keep catching my eye. It totally makes me want to sit on the beach while listening to Tennis. (Don't know Tennis? Go here, for some reason I can't embed their video.)



I keep trying to talk Jeff into letting me buy that picture of the ocean (#8). ( We always consult each other before making an art purchase, we have very different taste.) It is of a stormy day off the French coastline. So pretty. I want to add some art work in my downstairs bath and I think something like that would be nifty in a little collection!

You can find these for purchase here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9

Pinterest Pickings - Halloweens frightenin'

This last year I have been trying to be more festive and get into decorating for the holidays (I CAN'T Wait for Christmas! Our house maybe decorated for two or three months!). BUT thanks to the Nevada State mandated furloughs finding the extra cash to fund these holiday decorations has become more of a challenge. I figure I'd rather save up for a new chair or table then spend on little things in the interim.

This is where I turned to my new trusty best friend Pinterest! Seriously, I am so addicted. I could close my facebook or myspace (yes, I still have a myspace) account and not even bat an eyelash, but this Pinterest stuff is SOOO ADDICTING! Love it! Any who, I searched around for some creative and frugal ways to celebrate for Halloween. If you read this blog then you know when I say frugal I pretty much mean free, right?

I also didn't have time to do a whole lot of festive decorating either, so in the end all I really ended up making was this . . .



and this . . .


If I more time I thought it would also have been fun to do these:


This modge podged pumpkin from Urban Daisies:


This scary decor from Muse Lodge

This cute little pumpkin from Dollar Store Crafts

And lastly this cute tutu wreath found on Google Images. So cute and so fun. Maybe next year I'll be able to find time to do a few more Halloween projects!

Plugged In!!! Flirting with a media fast

I have been mulling over this idea about eliminating or reducing the amount of media that we have in our house/life. The idea grows stronger every time I hear about an event or days dedicated to limiting dependence on media.

I know a couple of people who either do not have a TV or who at least do not have a TV in their family room and limit the amount of time the TV is on. This is an interesting concept to me. I remember hardly ever watching TV or movies as a child, I was always outside. In college I never had time to turn on the tube. Looking back these were probably some of my happiest times as well. Today my time spent with media is a different story. Below is a picture of our current family room.

The TV is pretty much front and center. The furniture layout is made for easy TV viewing, and anyone can tell it is the main function of the room – being transfixed on the TV. We watch a good amount of TV at our house. We have a DVR, it is barely capable of recording all of our TV shows (the nerve of Direct TV to limit recordings to only 50 TV shows).

Our media obsession does not merely end with the TV; it expands to movies, media packages on our phones, and, of course, the computer. We probably average seeing about 4-5 movies a month. That’s right people. I said 4-5. Thanks to websites like this and this, the majority of these movies are free (Score!), but it still means that we spend 8 to 10 hours a month just watching movies. And the soda and popcorn are definitely not free.

In addition to this we also subscribe to Netflix. Although, to be fair we do keep threatening that we are going to cancel. We’ve been threatening for a good number of months but for some reason we just never make that call.

And as mentioned above, we pay the $30 bucks a month per person for each of us to have data packages on our phones through Verizon. I use this on a daily basis, checking my emails, checking Facebook, looking up movie times, or using GPS Navigation. I also spend time on the computer at work (lunch hour only please) or at home looking up decorating blogs or being sucked into Pinterest for hours. Jeff prefers to use his time on the computer searching out new music and bands, and playing war themed games.

We are seriously plugged in with all this media! Everyday. All day. It not only takes up a healthy dose of our time, but obviously, it takes up our money as well. So how do we end the cycle? How do we free ourselves from this never ending barrage of media?
Pic found here

One method of cleansing from media’s clutches if the growing popular media fast. I first started to hear about these in the news and on blogs a year or two ago. Apartment Therapy will hold media fasts every once in a while. I would like to try and participate but often get cold feet. I’m afraid of failure, even if I’m the only one who knows I’ve failed at something.

Another one of my biggest challenges is this guy.


He really likes all things media. So much so that I try to get him to start his own blog reviewing movies, TV shows, and music. I figure he spends so much time with it that he might as well try and turn it into something useful, or a creative outlet. But it stays more of hobby. Hmmm, can watching TV be called a hobby? Not sure. But if it can, this is probably his biggest hobby. I’ve brought up the idea of fasting from media for a week or so, but this usually ends with Jeff twitching nervously and wondering how serious I really am and how to talk me out of it.

I think we’ve decided that a week of media fasting probably won’t due for him. But we have compromised to doing a media fast for a day (which does not include music). The boy must have his tunes. And to be honest, I really enjoy music in our house too. It is pretty much always playing in the background at our house. Then once we compromise with a day instead of a week, I’ll say something like I’d like to have a day a month that we just unplug. He says a day a year or every 6 months will do him fine. So again we are at a stand still. (His main argument is that he has to be able to watch his sports. Men?)

Plus, doing a media fast every once in a while is a fine idea, but is it really getting to the root of the problem? And am I even sure this is a problem, and if it is, how big is it? I always could try and implement a house rule that the TV stays off until 8:00 pm every day, or something like that, but again I’m not really sure how far to take this.

Any who, these are my thoughts about media lately. I am not sure how much of a role I want it to play in my life, and am not sure about what actions to take. Anyone out there have their own set of rules for media in their lives? If so please share!

Grandpa Jones turns 91!!

My Grandpa Jones turned 91 this month. I ran up to St. George to celebrate with my family while Jeff stayed in town to work. My Uncles on my fathers side also came down with their wives and some family.


He seemed to have a good time, even if a surgery the following week was weighing on his mind. A few days after his birthday he went in to have one of his kidneys removed. We were all so grateful when he came out of surgery in good spirits and ready to go (well, at least as ready as a 91 year old man who just had an organ removed.)

Words simply cannot express how much I love this man. He has lived threw so much, been so many things to different people, but for me, I can't think of anything greater then getting to be his (grand) daughter. I am so, so lucky, and ever so grateful for knowing him like I do.