couch tater

So yeah um, about yesterday's post and heading down to Thanksgiving Point for the Queen Bee Market? Yeam nope. That would mean I have to leave my house. And these days it seems I'm not too fond of that particular activity. Meaning, I am such a complete couch potato.

I have found some resolve to go for walks {lately it has died tho since Utah decided it wasn't quite done with winter.} and I try to go when it's warm out. And I have started scorekeeping again. So twice a week, me and Danger head out and start scorekeeping around 6:30pm and get done around 9:30pm. It's been a little rough this week cuz it has been just me and him, so I'm trying to run the scoreboard, keep the book and wrangle him. Not too bad, he is a freaking awesome baby. {Last night he did end up spilling my water on me and the books... funny he did not get wet at all.... How can he plan stuff like that?!}

Back to my couch potato-ness... I figure I handled post partum depression pretty good. At least up until now. I feel like I've given up on certain things. My house will always be dirty, the laundry will never be done, and I feel sorta like it's not worth it to even try. I know that sounds lame, but lately I don't even try. I haven't been crafting lately, and trust me, I have a list of things to do and make. I even bought a brand new awesome looking sewing machine. Still in the box. I did get the manual out to read it, I'm still on the diagram of what button does what and what accessories came it the machine. Yup.

I justify my tater-ness by crocheting things for Christmas. Yeah. So I just sit there, crochet and watch TV. Danger hangs out with me. I'm not neglecting him. I love that little guy, we play talk back and forth, and roll around on the ground. But I just feel like I'll forever be stuck at home, so I might as well not try to do anything else. I'm not trying to make anyone sad or feel bad for me. {Shark, I know you read my blog sometimes, this is just how I feel.}

Most days, I feel like I'm not missing out on anything. I have my baby-dude and we hang out, he's learning all kinds of new things. {He's discovered he can make noise too, and that his knees can do stuff.} And I love my house, I just wish it were cleaner, but apparently not enough to fix it... Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world not doing something. It makes me wonder how other moms do it, how they stay happy, how they don't resign to the feelings that come with non-stop laundry and full-time mop. Yeah, that's one thing I'm trying to work on this month : being happy about things, all things. Heck I survived 2 open heart surgeries, I can survive laundry.

Today, being Saturday, I do plan to get my crochet stuff under control and moved from half the couch and into the basket. And I want to get the laundry folded/put away. Also, I would like the table cleaned off = Easter stuff put away. And one thing I can do while I sit here, is create a post about the crochet monkey I made for Danger. That will come later tho. I would also like to go for a walk, it is really really nice out today!

Anyways, sum up. Somedays are good days, somedays are bad days. Somedays I'm a champ, somedays I'm a wimp.  I have ideas. I need to get out of the house. I need to look inside myself and see that I'm a good mom, a good wife. I need to show how happy I really am! I need to walk it off. I need to pary more. I need to enjoy it all. I love my Little Man, I love my Big Man, I love my puppy. I love my house. I love my family. I love my life.

oh snap, no sir

So, if you stalk some craft blogs, like I do, you know all about the SNAP conference going on right this second down at Thanksgiving Point. Well, a few of my blogging buddies have posted about it. Amie over at Kitty Cats and Airplanes wrote about it. And I agree with her. About going down there and feeling left out cuz I'm not a big blogger. {On this blog or my crafty one, Collard Greens & Homemade Things.} I'm so small fish. And I know that if you want big things out of your blog, you have to put big things into it. You have to put the hours and time into it, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of committment yet. {Although I would like to start going steady with my blog, more regular dates and stuff...}

So, I looked into going to SNAP and all. I figured it would the usualy $15 entry fee. But to get into the conference its $300! Holy freaking crap! H to the NO! No way in crap am I paying that to feel like I'm in high school again, sitting all alone on the bench when everyone else is playing. Although I might  head on down to the Market/boutique thing they've got going on. I might even see if my sister in law Heather wants to go...

Maybe...

husband trumps blankets

I am married to a blanket hog. And he's a twitcher. He does not sleep in 1 spot, he moves around all night. Usually he has his blanket and I have mine. And usually that works great. But last night I has my blanket under his (mine is softer) and he too it just twisted up in it. And I don't know if you know this, but last night it was kinda chilly here in Northern Utah. I fought for those covers all night. I'd gain some ground and he'd twist and turn some weird way and all the sudden I was hanging onto a corner.

So tonight when I climbed into bed, I thought, "Ooh yes! I get the blankets!" cuz it's just as fun fighting yourself for the covers. (My husband works the night shift 3-4 nights a week.) I would rather have my husband here with me than blankets. {I would still love to have blankets but I want me hubby more.} And that's why husband trumps blankets.

When we were first married anyone that met us said we were perfect each other. He snores like a grizzly bear and I'm a heavy sleeper so I don't hear him. Shark eats anything, and I'm sorta picky about what I eat. And when we go places, if I can't finish what I order, Shark always does! Plus he usually always eats what I make. He just deposits the checks and I make sure it goes where it needs to go, when it needs to get there. It makes us a pretty awesome duo.

So my husband and I are coming up on 4 years here in about 2 months. It doesn't feel like 4 years. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it feels like only last week that we were getting photos taken around the temple and flying back from our cruise. Sometimes it feels like we're a very old married couple, we get up late, and try to go bed early, and we usually don't hang out with anyone else. We've been thru alot together. Open heart surgery. A break-in. Moving to CO. Moving to UT. Buying a house. Getting a puppy. Having a baby. Losing a job and getting a pay cut in the same week. Bee stings. Jury duty and Shark blogged. There's been way more things, but those are ones that stick out in my mind. We've gone fishing together, snowboarding, camping, and he even helped me get my hunter safety license. We're going to go kill something this year, he got an awesome new gun!

I love hanging out with him. My husband is my best friend and he is awesome. We've had a bit of bad times, but we have also had lots more very good times! The good out-weighs the bad. And things are only looking to get better.

love love love

ten on ten-ish April

Here is my Ten on Ten for April. I know there aren't 10 picutres, I tried, I really did....

Enjoy looking at my day. I sure do. I love when the 10th of the month lands on the weekend or a Monday or Tuesday cuz then my awesome amazing husband can spend the day with us! I love it!

nap trumps shower

So I'm that mom that picks nap over shower. Yup. I'm the one walking into the grocery store with the disheveled hair and sweatpants on. (Dry shampoo is a wonderful lifesaver!) I have been really good about not turning the Tv on this week (yes I know it is only Wednesday so its not a huge accomplishment) and I've been playing with my baby more this week. Peek a boo and Got hour toes. He's started laughing and rolling over which is awesome.

I do, however, make it a point to get dressed in jeans and not a pj shirt every morning. So just in case someone stops by or I have to make an emergency trip somewhere I took somewhat decent.

So yeah, that whole no TV thing lasted until today. Yeah, I kinda needed something to do while I was crocheting. And watching TV just is so easy to do while crocheting.

In fact, I've been crocheting some slippers for me. And I know I've been shady on getting things done but I am going to finish this stuff. I'll post pictures. (I did finish my crochet monkey for Danger, I just have to snap a pic and post it.)

I've been trying to be un-lazy lately. Going for walks and completing projects. It ends up working out, cuz I can bring my crochet projects with me when we go to the park and stuff. And if Shark puts Danger in the backpack, that means he's got Little Man and I get to just relax and hang out and crochet. I'm trying to bring it everywhere with me, cuz I usually always have a project I'm working on. Yeah, I am always doing something.

So yeah I'm working on fixing my laziness. Ack - So I've been participating in ten on ten, and I've been doing good for the past 3 months... but this month I totally slacked off. I tried yesterday once I remembered it was the 10th and I failed... I tried again today, and failed yet again. My life just isn't very photogenic.

I have come to realize that I lead a very boring life. It really is me and Danger playing all day. We just sit around the house and play games all day. We roll balls around, we sing songs, we dance to music, we take naps, we clink toys together. Yup, just me and him. I love hanging out with him. But the best days ever, are the days Dad is home. And we can play and giggle, and I can show Shark all his little tricks and ticklish spots. Tuesday we had a picnic as a family, over where we got our engagements and bridal photos taken. It was such a nice day, and we got to hang out as a family. It was so awesome.

That's why lately, even though I'm exhausted, nap trumps shower.

love hate

Ok I've started to realize things are different here in Utah than they are in Wisconsin. I have found some things I absolutely love. There are also a few things I hate.

LOVE:

- Arctic Circle. Oh my goodness! You can get a freaking awesome little burger (with lettuce on it) for 79¢! I love it!

- over-the-top shakes. That ones a new one. I love them, although I cant seem to ever finish them.

- My husband. Yup.

- Fry sauce. The magical mixture that everyone says is just ketchup and Mayo but I know there's more to it.

- The mountains. Yeah sure Wisconsin has rolling hills, but Utah has mountains and they are wonderful.

- Drive-in movies. Sure, we never can seem to find the right kind of radio but drive-in movies are still way awesome. They are so much fun.

- Love Sac/Cuddle Cushion. Just a giant bean bag or some are filled with bits of memory foam. And by giant I mean just barely fits in the bed of Shark's Chevy. (Awesome at drive-ins.)

- Snowboarding. I know I got the snowboard while in Wisconsin but I never used it out there cuz I worked swing shift (it sucked) but once I moved out here, and met Shark, he taught me how and I love it.

- Going to General Conference. Sure I watched it on Tv, but going in person is so amazing. I absolutely love it, it is so awesome and so wonderful, just a beautiful expierence.

- I love being closer to everything, like grocery stores, gas stations, the library, the bank, church, the Temple. No more driving for an hour to get to church (we can walk across the street), or the grocery store (we're smack in the middle of 2 of them, same with gas stations.) Everything is so much closer, I love it.

- Grandma Sycamore's Bread. It's awesome. I'm not sure if it's just an "out west" thing, I never looked for it in WI. But it is so soft and wonderful. I love it. And I love that I found an outlet bakery that sells it for $1! Yup! No more $4 a loaf for this mama.

HATE

-Traffic. In Wisconsin there are 2 seasons, football and construction. And it is common knowledge, a rule, a law, everybody knows an follows it : in the construction zone you slow down. You slow WAY freaking down. So, it's totally new to me that apparently in Utah, drivers hold no regard for construction zones and therefore, do not drive the speed limit, at all. Yup traffic sucks.


Ok, so basically, it's just traffic I hate...

Ooh, and I hate that I didn't buy that industrial size double pack of Ranch from CostCo last month... I kept telling myself, "We don't use ranch that much, I shouldn't buy that cuz we won't really use it." HA! Then I bought a 4 pack of pepperoni pizzas and a 3-bottle-pack of buffalo wing sauce from BW3. What was I thinking not buying the ranch?!

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Fri, er, saturday confessional

Ok, so yesterday I decided to get off my booty {ok not really, cuz I sat and blogged} and blog about stuff. To let everyone know I am not dead and I have just been hiding my house.

So, today, I feel I must confess....

I confess...

we bought half a cow. I know I keep going on and on about this cow thing, but it is pretty awesome. I'm thinking we have our meat supply for quite a while! I mean, I don't have to wonder how many pounds of ground beef I have left, or if I have enough to make dinner. Plus, if Shark gets really hungry he can always grill one up. :)

I confess...

we bought more than just our cow with our tax return... we bought the cheapest {like in price! not some off brand cheap one} LCD tv we could find at Best Buy. We are both super excited about it. We've had the same old vaccuum tube TV I got for free from the lady I was renting a room from. We've had it since before we were married, and we've carted it across the Rocky Mountains twice!

I confess...

I am so not a fan of last minute planning. Nope not at all.

It's kinda funny cuz I remember back in high school, my mom would always say NO to plans that just came up {and let's face it, all my plans "just came up" my friends had NO clue what they were doing until just before they did it.} and she always tried to get us to plan ahead. I hated it back then. Bah, planning ahead is for sissies, or something.

But now, I'm all about planning ahead, I hate when plans just pop up. Unless, it's that much needed chocolate shake or "hey, I've got some free time, wanna come hang out while our kids scream?"

I confess...

Now that my little man isn't sick, I'm still not sure I want to take him out. His smiles might just be too freaking cute to share!

Just kidding! I'll share!

And I feel way more craftier than I did last week... I might be itching to make something, or finish something, which ever.

I confess...

I did not buy chocolate Easter bunnies this year. Everytime I try to buy them, I always end up getting the "chocolate flavored" kind. Ugh. When is Ghirardelli gonna come out with an Easter Bunny.... I see an untapped fortune there!!

I confess...

Even though our dog barks once {or twice each day} he usually only barks at the mailman, who is scared of him. Some new neighbors moved in, like a zig-zag tetris piece away, and they have, what sounds like, a big dog and a chiuaua. They bark and howl and "fight" I guess, all the dang time. Anyways, an "L" shaped tetris piece the other direction, their dog sounds like an ROUS from Princess Bride. All the dang time. I'm not the type to call animal control, but I might just be the type to get out my slingshot and shoot some hardened doggie treats their way... MIGHT.

Anyways, those are my confessions for this week. Yay for not feeling lame right now!

Easiest Easter Blocks

So I have been the lamest crafter ever. Ok, so I've been crocheting like a mad-woman {cuz I don't have to leave the couch...} hey, my baby has been sick! But I haven't been doing a whole lot of crafting and sewing.

But a while back I went to Target {Oh, I love that store.} And every time I go there I go specifially for the Dollar Section. Well, anyways, while checking the bins in the $1 Section, I found these SPRING blocks.

I had an idea. I'm all about multi-purpose decor, as you can tell by my seasonal word blocks. I counted it out, and there are the same number of letters in EASTER as there are in SPRING. {Yes, I stood there in the aisle and counted the blocks to make sure my idea would work.} So I decided today was the day, 2 days until Easter, and I was finally going to do my project. I measured and cut out the word EASTER in white vinyl.

Then turned the blocks for SPRING around and stuck the vinyl letters on so all I have to do is spin each block around so it says Easter!

Easiest craft ever. Maybe I'll eventually get around to making my St. Patrick's Day/Valentine's Day blocks... Did you know that St. Pat's and Valentine's Day have the same number of letters in them?!

Ta Da! So easy and cute! And those blocks only cost $2.50 in the Dollar Section! Awesome! Now If I can just remember to take them out every year!

Not dead!

Alright, so I'm not dead. I've just been hanging out. Last week I noticed Danger's cough had started again and gotten worse than before. So I took him into the doctor's office, because last time I was there, they told me it was RSV.

I am NOT freaking out, RSV is just cough that can turn into pnuemonia. I understand it, I'm not worried or scared. I know if not taken care of, RSV can become dangerous. But we've been taking care of it. Well, the RSV is back. He's been coughing and really just a snotface kiddo. Just like kiddo's should be, right? Not the coughing, just the snotfaced part. But we've been dealing with the RSV, and hopefully it's gone for good now. He still has a cough, but it's not like he's hacking anything up. He never had a temp so it wasn't close to becoming pnuemonia. (Right now he's snoring sleeping in his swing.)

Ooh, did you know I'm typing this on a mini computer? It used to be my sister Gwen's but she doesn't need it or something, so she sent it to us so Shark could use it, but right now he's sleeping, so he's not using it! I've kind of been dead to the world lately tho. I know that. With Danger being sick, I haven't really gone anywhere, or hanging out with anyone, especially anyone with kids. {I'm always grumbling about "that family" who brings their sick kids out and have them cough all over everything and everyone else!} I don't want to be "that family" so I just hung out with my little man here at home while he was sick.

I've decided that when he's sleeping, which he has been doing alot lately {I think he's growing again!} I am planning on writing things down. Blogging more. Hopefully crafting more. {I do have a quilt to finish....} I also need to start working on Christmas gifts... yeah I'm that lame, I start working on Christmas long before the snow starts falling! {HA, it snowed today! Ugh!}

So I have a project to post, I'll post it today once that post is done. 'Til then, see ya later!

Half a cow richer!

We got our tax return back, and we bought half a cow. Well, in processed meat. We got 300 lbs or steaks, roasts, and ground beef! My upright freezer is full!! I'm so exctied! Before we got the truck load of meat, I had to clean out our freezer.

Shark has apparently always worked for businesses that give out turkeys for Christmas bonus, which I don't mind in the least. The past few bonuses {not sure I'm spelling that right.} we've given away the turkeys, cuz I don't know how to cook a turkey, and I did NOT want to screw it up for my turkey-loving husband.

Well, last year, we got a turkey, and it was so happily just sitting in my freezer, until who knows when. Well, then we put in our order for half a cow, and I figured I needed to make room in my awesome upright freezer for those 300 lbs of cow coming my way. So I decided to try cooking a turkey. I had my paper bag and I started cooking my turkey. By the time Shark woke up that day, the turkey was done and then we were heading over to Shark's folks' house to have a nice turkey dinner. It turned out beautiful.

Anyways, I put all the other food from the freezer into 2 coolers while the freezer defrosted. Eventually, Shark went out there and hosed it down, and then dried it off. I bought some laundry baskets that fit my freezer, and thank goodness they were big enough to fit all the meat!

Yup. I measured my freezer, then went on down to Wal-Mart, and found some baskets that fit perfectly! Freaking awesome! Plus, now I didn't have to fit a turkey into one of those laundry baskets, cuz it really would NOT have fit with the cow!!

So yeah. Look at those awesome laundry baskets! I love these baskets, they have handles on all 4 sides, so they are made to be pulled and pushed on the long sides! Well, at least they are reinforced on the long sides. {And I checked them to make sure they don't get brittle when frozen, I know those clear shoebox totes get brittle and break when put in the freezer, that's why I went with laundry baskets.}

We're also in the process of growing our food storage. I just bought 25lbs of flour. Yup. I did that. And I put it in 1 of my orange buckets under my Christmas shelves. It fit, but my bucket is now shaped like an egg... I might need to open the bag and make it fit in the ROUND bucket. But I need to open the bag anyways, my 2qt canister of flour is empty. {I emptied it trying to find the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. I haven't found it yet, but when I do, I'll tell everyone!}

Anyways. That's what's been going on this week, us buying our cow. I really am so excited to go shopping in my own freezer. Shark grilled up some steaks and they sure are tasty!