the other night after i got out of the shower tyler surprised me with an early birthday present. he and our friend made this awesome csuf plaque for me! i am so proud of tyler and i for finishing school while living in southern california and working part time. it was definitely NOT easy, but it was worth it.
i am so excited to find a place for this in our home. thank you sweetie. you are the best! and thanks for picking the cutest wrapping paper too. you know me well.
the ward talent show turned out great. we made french toast from home made bread. yum! we had a barbecue with our friends. and we got to meet little westen king. we couldn't be happier for rhett and katie and we are so glad that we are blessed with so many wonderful friends.
sometimes i ride my bike to the gym. along the way there are several orange trees next to the bike path and right now the orange blossoms smell amazing! tonight, while riding home i passed by the trees and decided to pick some.
as a child i used to eat oranges with my grandpa jack. my grandma told me that one time i said to my grandpa... "get off your duff and get me an orange" (for those of you who knew me as a child you know this type of feisty behavior was rather typical).
now, each time i take a bite of a juicy and delicious orange i always think of grandpa jack. i can't wait to sink my teeth into one of these fresh-off-the-tree oranges and ponder on the days when he sat beside me as we enjoyed an orange together.
some of you may recall that one of my resolutions this year is reading five (5) books. i have decided i am going to read "heaven is here" by stephanie nielson as part of that goal. and today, on barnes and noble you can pre-order her book for 50% off. she is such an inspiration to so many women and i am grateful to have been introduced to her blog some time ago. i so enjoy hearing her fun stories and seeing what her lovely family is up to.
A little about her... "I am:
Returning from a near-fatal airplane crash, burned 80% of my body, and will have surgeries for the rest of my life. Probably.
But I am alive.
I cherish Mr. Nielson, Claire, Jane, Oliver, and Nicholas."
she is also expecting a little girl. if you read her blog and hear her story there is no way you wont want to read this book. i am so excited. with general conference coming this weekend & then this lovely coming just a few days later i will be up to my eyes in inspiration.
i did a lot of baking yesterday. our ward talent & dessert showcase is tonight & tyler has been in charge of planning the whole thing. i thought i should help him out so i volunteered to bring some treats.
okay, okay i admit it. i ate a cupcake, but i only ate one cupcake and i only ate it because it was the ugliest one. promise.
i guess when you bake chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes and a batch of coconut chocolate chip cookies the day after your husband makes bread it results in a sink over flowing with dishes.
so after baking in the kitchen with the oven blasting for two hours i got to stand over the sink and wash all of these lovely dishes. oh, it's so nice to not have a dishwasher. . . .
i am waiting for my second marshmallow. i don't know when i am going to get it. the wait could be a month or a year. i just know that i have to wait. this is not always an easy concept for me. i am not very good at being patient. it is something i have to work at and although i have improved i still have a long way to go.
i am so grateful for my membership in the church and for the gospel principles. i am grateful for the little reminders that i really need. i am grateful that general conference is coming up and that i can receive guidance and inspiration from my trusted leaders. where would i be without them?
ever since i first watched this video, whenever i get impatient, i think to myself... "amy, why eat your marshmallow now when you can have handfuls of marshmallows in just a short while?"... so i'll wait just a little longer.
and universe, just in case you were wondering, amy rex is ready for her marshmallows now. or so i think. it's really not up to me though, is it?
after a particularly long day at work i decided to make pancakes for dinner. call me crazy, but i just get really excited about breakfast for dinner sometimes. maybe it's because it feels like i'm breaking the rules. maybe it's because it means i get to eat chocolate for dinner.
anyway, i decided to venture out and make my own pancake batter. it was super easy and so yummy. for mr. rex... plain pancakes. for me... chocolate chip of course.
add some scrambles eggs, turkey sausage powdered sugar and some syrup and you have got one lovely meal.
today is one of those days where i have read one too many blogs about being a mom, birth stories and raising children. it makes me want my own little bundle of joy to ooh and ahh over. to snuggle. to stare at.
all. day. long. i revel in the thought for a moment.
then i think i have so much to do or to see before i take on that responsibility. i want to be better before i have to raise a little human being. i don't want my child to get my bad habits. what if i mess this whole mom thing up? i feel like my mind changes everyday. oh, wouldn't it be nice if God just gave me a list of to-do's & specifies the order in which he wants me to do them?
i love that brylee looks me in the face and knows me. i am so grateful to her for her sweetness & the love that she brings into so many people's lives. i am so happy to be her aunt. i am so excited to watch her grow & that i get to see her often.
someday i will have my very own baby look me in the eyes and know me. that someday will be the best day.
oh someday. someday. someday.
they have arrived folks. i am SO in love with my new spectacles. you know how as a child, when you got a new pair of shoes you loved them so much that you wanted to wear them to sleep? that is kind of how i feel about these beauties.
i ordered them from bonlook.com and they were only 100 bucks. about half of what i normally spend when i buy lenses from my eye doctor so it makes the purchase even more exciting. there's nothing like getting a good deal and being completely satisfied.
so the last time i tried to paint a piece of furniture it was an epic fail. we spent money on a bunch of paint, sand paper and brushes and attempted to refinish our kitchen table & chairs. it did not turn out the way we planned. so when i set out to paint our tv stand i was hesitant.
i love the new set up. i rearranged the bookshelf, reorganized the coffee table, which used to hold the games and instead made the red basket, which used to hold the blankets, into the game basket. it just feels like a whole new room. i also went to trader joes, cleaned the house... even the shower, made dinner and went running.
on saturday we decided we should enjoy the beautiful warm breeze and sunshine. we went on a picnic with the langs at the nearby park. we ate salad, the ducks & geese tried to steal our grub, josh threw a sandal at a goose and the boys bought ice cream from the nice man with a bell on his cart.
we also ran into some friends, kiki and fletcher. it was so fun to see them. we love that we live near so many great people and that we get to see them often... and also bump into them serendipaciously.
