Monday, December 29, 2008

Wordful Wednesday-Happy New Year!

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Happy New Year!

I'm without computer access for a few days.......which means........no picture this week. Nice Wordful Wednesday host, huh?

It gets better. I've had problems pre-publishing the Mr. Linky widget as well, so this week I have to publish extra early while I have computer access to make sure the widget is functional.

I can't wait to see what you all have to "talk" about when I can get back on-line.

Here's to a fabulous NEW YEAR!
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Wordful Wednesday-Christmas Eve already?

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Bet you thought that you were actually going to get some Christmas photos, right? That's the thing though.........I've been so busy preparing for Christmas that I can't be bothered actually downloading and selecting a picture for this week. I will next week though.....next week.....:)


Now, some of you are probably scratching your head if you are here on Tuesday the 23rd. Many have figured out that I publish my Wordful Wednesday posts on Tuesdays at 5pm Pacific time. It has worked out well for many who want to link up before they go to bed and live on the East Coast. I will continue to publish on Tuesdays, except for one week in January when I've promised a great bloggy pal to wait until Wednesday. Any preferences on which Wednesday in January this should be?


This weeks Wordful Wednesday is yet another installment of Halcomb Photography shots. What can I say? I love 'em and since I can't show you all 300, I've just been picking some of my favorites. Like these:






















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Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Holidays!

Can you believe Christmas is upon us? I hope that you all have a wonderful week.

Wordful Wednesday will be up as usual, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make the rounds like I normally do. I'm taking a bloggy break to spend time with my family, but I'll be back commenting like normal in the New Year. Can't wait to catch up with all of you!

I found the link to my article in the Ensign:
http://www.lds.org/gospellibrary/pdfmagazine/0,7779,592-6-1,00.html#

My story is on page 71.
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Friday, December 19, 2008

I can hardly contain my glee........

I've been published.

I haven't actually seen the January edition of the magazine yet, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the article I wrote on a whim over two years ago has finally been put in print.

It's in a church publication (The Ensign), and the article is about my twins......distribution is to over a million people!

I can't think of anything more humbling this holiday season than this reminder of how abundantly I've been blessed.


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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Wordful Wednesday-My Gentle One

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!


You know how some kids are just easy? Truly a delight to be around almost all the time? The kind that make you say that if all kids were this way, you'd have 100?

Well, this kid is one of those. From the moment he made his debut in the world, until now, he's been an amazingly wonderful, gentle, kind hearted, fun-to-be-around child.

I love his smile. I love his gentle disposition. I love his confidence to do what he desires without fanfare. I love that he prays for his sisters to have good days at school and really thinks about the welfare of others. I love that he really, really loves his daddy, and has a special bond with him. I love that even though he doesn't love to cuddle with me, he'll consent to it on occasion. I love his smile.

Oh, who am I kidding? I love everything about this child, and I feel very blessed that he's mine.

And, how do you all feel about Wordful Wednesday on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve? Break, or no break?

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Monday, December 15, 2008

Graceling, Twisted Silver Winner, Mission Monday


Have any of you read Graceling by Kristin Cashore? No? Then go. Buy it. Or borrow it from your local library. And tell me what you think. Because if you are like me, you are going to be absolutely entranced with this debut novel. With wonderfully elegant, readable prose, strong characters and a great plot, I'm devouring every page... Excuse me while I neglect life finish the last chapter.


Oops, in my haste, I almost forgot. We have a winner!


Congratulations to Jennifer from Rundpinne (your 7 entries paid off) for winning the shower earrings graciously donated by Twisted Silver. You won! Now, let's talk about those earrings......when would be a convenient time to borrow them? :)


Even if you aren't the winner, don't forget to add the pieces you covet to your holiday list! :)


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Are you playing along? 'Cuz the stakes just got higher. The grand prize, year end drawing is drawing near, and if you are smart you'll want to be included. Look what I want to win:

*a $100 Ruth's Chris Gift Card
*an MP3 Player
*$30 in Itunes Credits
*and MORE!!!
For your chance to be an agent, head over to Deb at Dirty Socks and Pizza and Jay at Halftime Lessons.
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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Merry Christmas-from Twisted Silver

Twisted Silver is offering one of you this wonderful pair of earrings valued at $40.00.

What will you wear to your next holiday party? Perhaps these?

I think these are the ultimate earring for the season. The cascading shower of baby pearls looks flirty and feels "like Hollywood". And they'd look great with the new dress I just bought. I haven't been invited to any big parties yet, but I'm pretty sure those invites just haven't been delivered. You know? :) But wait. Twisted Silver isn't giving the earrings to me, they are giving them to you. So perhaps the winner would like to share?

For your chance to win, visit Twisted Silver and tell me which piece you would like to wear to your next holiday party. For an additional entry, tell me what holiday party you are going to. I'll try not to be jealous. If you'd like FIVE more entries, blog about this giveaway and let me know you've done so. All seperate comments, please. This giveaway is only open to US residents and ends December 14th.

And for more information on Twisted Silver, here you go:

"Twisted Silver is the imaginative trailblazer of the "convertible jewelry" movement. Belts become necklaces...become chokers... become multi-wrap bracelets! Rare is it to find a piece of jewelry always outside of the box, yet instantaneously fashionable and recognizable.
Because Twisted Silver lets you define how to wear the jewelry, your imagination is your only limitation
."


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Friday, December 12, 2008

Go See Me.....

For my Twisted Silver Earrings Giveaway, go here.

I'm featured over at Katydid and Kid today!

She interviewed me for her Friday Feature and it's all about me and...blogging. Head on over. You just might learn something new......or, maybe not. :)


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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Writers Workshop-My Path

For my Twisted Silver Earrings Giveaway, go here.

I've walked a path this year full of changes......but the good kind of change. You know, as opposed to the pick-your-world-up, shake-it-around and then-drop-it-on-it's-side kind of change. Oh, how I love this change where I haven't had to pick up the pieces and figure out a way to move on.

I think the thing I love most about the changes of 2008 is that they were all with my consent. I CHOSE the changes and was lucky enough to not have them "happen" to me, as has happened in the past. I'm sure you can all imagine that being able to chose makes the manager in me very, very happy.

I headed down my path in 2008 with a New Year's Resolution. I resolved not to resolve....out loud... rather in my heart and mind. And I did. I was sick and tired of carrying around the baby weight I had been unhappily lugging with me since two weeks after the twins were born. That's right. I weighed the same weight 2 years post child birth as I did 2 weeks. That slayed me. Really slayed me.

So, I started the year with a plan. The plan to lose that weight once and for all, and keep it off. Since the word diet isn't in my vocabulary, I decided to change the way I ate. Pure and simple. Those first three months were hard because my eating habits.....were, um.....habits.....and took a conscious effort to break. I sort of went through each day keeping a mentally tally of what I ate. If at the end of the day I couldn't remember everything I put in my mouth, I knew I had eaten too much. I also made MUCH different choices, steering clear of unhealthy options.......and you all know what those are. I pretty much cut out all snacking, and stuck to 3 round meals and dessert. But not EVERY night. I couldn't give up dessert. 11.5 months later I feel great and have forged a new partnership with food. It's different than it was before. I don't let it's pleasures unnecessarily fill my stomach. Plain and simple.

Now, don't be deceived. This path has not come without a few negatives. Like, it's taken a toll on my husbands wallet. Every size I went down I bought new clothes.....and those (the clothing bills) add up. I played it safe and resold most of my designer jeans, but it was sort of shocking to find that I had moved up a tier in the Nordstrom customer appreciation ladder. I hadn't "banked" on how expensive it can be to get rid of that junk in my trunk. Let's count....2 or 3 pairs of jeans per size, is um, approximately 12 pairs.... Just fair warning, ladies and gents!

The second major path I followed in 2008 led us 1000 miles south on a prayer. Jeff and I finally felt good about our decision to walk away from our house (that had been on the market for 6 months and that we'd spend the previous 2 years remodelling), pull our children out of a school they loved, take them away from their friends, change jobs, and leave family and friends, and move. So we did. And those prayers paid off because a day after we left Oregon we received an offer on our house, and although the girls had a bit of an adjustment at school, we weathered the flurry and are all settled in our home of perpetual sunshine. Literally and figuratively.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that after 8 years of diapering up to three children at a time, our household became diaper free. And crib free, too, for that matter. That's another path that I no longer walk down....I don't have babies anymore. That path has been bittersweet.

And there you have it. The Personal Christmas Letter I'll never send out, and you can thank Mama Kat for it. This is just one more installment in her weekly Writers Workshop.

And, you got another "walk-away" shot because it's so apropos. If I hadn't fallen out of favor with Mama Kat and she still emailed me the writing prompts in advance like she USED to, this wouldn't have happened. But, it's OK, I'm not holding a grudge or anything. :) And, just to be clear. I haven't fallen out of favor with Kathy. She still loves me as much as she used to... I think. I was only kidding.
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Wordful Wednesday-Walking Away

For my Twisted Silver giveaway, go here.

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!



This is one of my favorite pictures from the "photo shoot". I love the image of my children and I walking into the distance.

Now, I've been asked by someone who happens to think this pose is LAME (I asked for it specifically, and is not a reflection on the photographer) what the point is. There isn't one really. I just like it. And I hope you do too!


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What I'm wearing....

For my Twisted Silver giveaway, go here.


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I *HEART* fashion. I even thought I had some fashion sense until my husband derailed me a few weeks ago. See, I bought two jackets that I adored (I need lighter weight jackets here than I did in Oregon). And I mean adored. I thought they were so cute. He, um. Didn't.

He has really great fashion sense, so I can't decide if our tastes just defer on this one, or if I'm losing it.

If I am losing it, then who knows how many steps I am away from a fashion disaster?

So, at a time when I am questioning whether I'm turning into a fashion wasteland, "It's What I'm Wearing" was born. The author of Tiaras and Tantrums is the hostess; she's participated in my Wordful Wednesdays since its inception, and in the early days when I didn't know if the whole idea would flop, I knew I could count on her.

Lucky for me, I can play along with her today as she's participated with me, AND ask your opinion.

Am I a few short steps shy of embarrassing?

I present to you what I wore yesterday. This is pretty typical of what I wear when I have a bunch of errands to run. Comfort is really important to me.




Pictured above is one of the jackets in question (which I'm now starting to think really is a not), one of my favorite black layering T-Shirts (Layers Clothing), one of my favorite pairs of jeans (Citizen's of Humanity, Kelly cut), and brown suede flats (Franco Sarto).

Please be gentle if you need to break some bad news to me. I'm fragile. :)

And, be sure to head over to Tiaras and Tantrums to see what others are wearing.


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Thursday, December 04, 2008

Uncross those fingers...

Because it's going to take a whole lot more than luck to get that audition. I mentioned in another post that the twins were auditioning for a national commercial with a celebrity mom....it was yesterday. And it was painful.

The casting call was for redheaded MALE twins aged 3 to 5. So, I thought, great...that narrows down the playing field. A ton.

The boys call time got pushed back an hour up front. That worried me because it made their call time during lunch. I rationalized that it would be OK because after
all, they'd have to eat the product so they should be hungry. Terrible assumption.....or was it a justification for dragging them down there, hungry?

We walk in, and there are like 100 sets of twins. And I only see 2 that are male with red hair. One set obviously wasn't even 3. The rest of the twins? Girls, boys, blonde hair, brown hair.....not even all identical twins. I should have walked away then. But I didn't. And we waited 2 dreadful hours to get called back. 2 hours with a roomful of other twins aged 2 to 7. Use your imagination. Not fun.

Then we got called back. We walk into this tiny, stiffling room and there is a camera man and the casting director. They order them to sit at a table, for me to stand to the side and they start shooting questions at them. "What's your name?", "How old are you?", "Now eat/drink that ----". Jacob almost crumbled and refused to speak or eat the product and John played it cool. He took a swig of his drink, put his hand on his head and gave them a look like, "had better".

So, the director asked us to walk around and try again because I really DO think they were what they were looking for, LOOKS wise. The celebrity mom has red hair.

Against my better judgement, we walked around for 30 minutes and went back in. And Jacob clung to my neck and John just wanted the candy I bribed him with. It was a disaster. I could tell the casting director was on her last nerve and she none to nicely escorted us out, and even confiscated a beverage Jacob was to drink. That was fun to deal with once the door closed.

I came to a conclusion. Commercials are a great gig if you can get em'. But auditioning is the pits. And not all up our alley. As for lunch? My poor boys didn't get lunch until 5pm. Neither did I. Not good. Not good at all.

Normally I participate in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. This week however, I was at the blasted audition, killing my whole day so I didn't have time to write it. I can assure you all though, that I had nothing to say anyway. The prompt I chose was about whether or not I am still friends with people from high school. Basically (except for Jeff), the answer is No. BUT, I have had 3 high school friends contact me last week through Facebook, and my sister in law did too. Is it just us, or have you all been reconnecting with old friends this holiday season?

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Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Wordful Wednesday-My girls

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!


I *HEART* my sweet girls so much. So much.

Tammie took this one. I mentioned in another post that all of my Wordfuls for the next few weeks are photos of my family she shot for me last week. She works in the Southern CA area, so if you are interested, be sure to check out her gallery!



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*Don't forget to check out my SITSmas post below.

Merry SITSmas-From My Family to Yours

Be sure to head over to SITS today for giveaways all day long and the chance to visit other SITS followers.
AND you must stop in with Casey at Quilao Triplets, Tiffany at R Family Diaries, and Heather at Mindless Junque for a little SITSmas cheer. When you are done with that, take a gander at my blogroll in my sidebar and see all the wonderful women I've "met" through SITS. Then go give them a little love.

*Family Photo taken by Tammie with Halcomb Photography

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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Housekeeping with a Thankful Heart

You know how sometimes your heart feels too full for words? That's how I felt this Thanksgiving season. Like my cup over floweth, and I can't describe with words all that I am thankful for.

I think it's only fair that since I'm keeping my inner most thankful thoughts to myself, I should finally thank all of you for all the bloggy goodness you've been throwing my way over the past few months in the form of awards and bloggy comments. I'm sure it's no surprise that I'm guilty of hoarding awards once again. Sigh.

Here's my stash along with the wonderful bloggers that gave them to me.......thank you!





All three of the above from Susie at Susie's Homemade.

Octamom



Kasey at Chronicles of a Mommy

Bouf mom at Who Says 8 is Enough?

Kimber at Kimbers Space.


AVT Coach
Sam at Yes, I know Sam is a Boys Name
Tammy at Pink Stinx
Ramblings of a 34B Cup



Marla at Stolen Bon Bons
Susie at Susie's Homemade


Nicole at Sanity Check, One Two...


Susie at Mommy, Just One More Minute

Mamarazzi at Dandelion Wishes

Sonya at A Spoon Full of Sugar


Jamie at Heiner Clan


This sweet thang was bestowed upon me by Migraine Mom.
And
Lele at Phillips 101
Esme's mom at MoziEsme
Three under Two over at Lit and Laundry gave me this one.


Jyl at Mommy Gossip gave me this one way back in August.
And,
Now, I've been agonizing over who to give each award to, and then I came upon this brilliant award giving idea at Jiggety Jigg's Blog.

So, without further ado, the winners (feel free to take any/all that you are in need of) are those of you who fit any of the following criteria:

1. Your first name has more than 3 letters, but less than 10.
2. It has at least 2 vowels.
3. One of the consonants is an N, S, or T. Or, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, P, Q, R, V, W, X, Z.
4. When you write your first name backwards, it does NOT spell out any evil messages of any kind.
(All rules negotiable and subject to change without notice. Void where prohibited.)
THANKS for being such good cyber friends to me. I am so thankful for all of you!


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