Friend Makin' Mondays: These are a few of my favorite things!

Kasey from All That is Good is on a huge road trip right now. She is actually in Utah today, so Mamarazzi from Dandelion Wishes is in charge of FMM today. And this week's theme is:

List 5-10 of your favorite things! So, here it goes: ***

• My walking trail: I think I'm a little addicted to it. If I am too busy to go I will make time to go at night. It is so refreshing, beautiful and makes me feel so good.

• My weird shoes: (Therashoes) they really do feel great!

• Flat bread. I love making a sandwich and wrapping it up in this bread. So delicious and wonderful. (I microwave it for a bout 30 seconds first so it is soft)

• My new favorite salad dressing: Kraft Extra Virgin Olive Oil Greek Vinaigrette = deliciousness!!!

• This sweater: (American Eagle) I found it at the mall the other day. It wasn't on sale, so I said I would wait. Then about an hour later I just had to go back for it. I love polka dots!

• Pedicures: I went last week with my sister, my mom and my daughter. So fun! My feet feel so much prettier now.

• Cupcakes! I have a little cupcake display stand (Crate & Barrel) to display my cupcakes on. And I recently purchased Martha's Cupcake book. Wow, what great recipes!

• Our backyard swing. I love to read a book here. And the kids love to have lunch on the swing.

Go on over to Dandelion Wishes and join the party!

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I Hope you are having a wonderful day!

XOXO

July Fun!

We've had a wonderful time hanging out with my sisters and their families this week. One day we got out of the heat at the local bowling alley. The kids had a blast!

They loved it the second game when the lights went off and the music started!

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I hope you had a wonderful week!

XOXO

Fourth of July: Food, Family, Fun and Festivities!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

XOXO

If you see me on the street - just look the other way...

You know how I posted the other day about FitFlops? Well the overwhelming response was that they are a Fashion Don't. I was at the mall in Seattle and saw these new shoes by Sketchers called Shape Ups. I know I am gullible, but I kept thinking about them, wondering if they really work. I looked online and found that there is a knock-off sold at Kmart called TheraShoe. They got rave reviews online! So I went over there this morning. Of course, my store was sold out of every pair. I finally tracked some down after calling 4 stores. So instead of spending over $200 for MBT's, or $100 for Sketchers, I scored a pair for $34.00. I tried them out tonight and they are so comfortable and bouncy. I can't wait to take them out on the trail tomorrow. If you see me - feel free to look the other way. I also got 2 pair of their FitFlop knockoffs. They were on sale for $9.99!

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Are you ready for the fourth? What are your plans?

XOXO

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- What Motivates Me?

It's Extreme Makeover: Me Edition over at Amber's. I feel so much better this week than I did last week. Too much eating out on our trip and not enough exercise. Now that we are home I am back to my routine. I mentioned earlier about my summer routine of going walking/running on a wilderness trail near my home. I usually run up the hills and power walk down them. I am not sure how far it is - I need to get a pedometer and see. It takes me about 1 hour. It is so beautiful. Yesterday when I went, I took my camera.I also got some new arm weights which I tried out yesterday. They are awesome! As I walk, I do different exercises with my arms and today I hurt - so I think that they worked. The weights are 3 pounds each and they attach around the wrist with Velcro and you put your thumb through the hole so they don't slide around. Jeff put a really great working out playlist on my ipod and away I go every morning! If you are interested in losing weight, or just getting healthier - join Amber's EM:ME group. It is a great group of girls supporting each other!

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Have a super day!

XOXO

Mod Podge Mania: Decoupage Jewelry

It's Mod Podge Mania over at Xazmin's today. How could I pass up the opportunity to make something using my favorite medium? I have been thinking for awhile of ways to make jewelry using Mod Podge. After some experimenting, here is what I came up with. I made two different kinds of beads. I had some bead napkins rings that I found at Target a while ago for .25 each. I had been saving them thinking they would make cute beads for jewelry. I decided to try to decoupage them. It ended up being pretty messy and tricky. First, I cut small strips of paper and then I let the paper soak for a few minutes in a bowl of water. To make these you really need to get messy. I applied the Mod Podge with my fingers. Then I wound each strip of paper around the bead until the entire bead was covered. I then let each bead dry out on wax paper. Once all of the beads were dry, I applied a really thick coat of Shiny Mod Podge so they would be glossy. Once THAT coat of Mod Podge was dry, I then had to find the holes which I had covered over. I used the small end of a pair of pliers and estimated where the holes would be. It worked out pretty well. A way to make this project easier would be to use printed tissue paper which is much thinner and perfectly round wooden beads. The second type of bead I made was a cylinder. This type was much easier. First I cut out different strips of scrapbook paper in different widths. Then I took a wooden shish kabob skewer and wound each strip around tightly. At the end of the strip I attached the paper with good glue (I use E9000). Once all of the paper was wound into beads, I gave them all a good coat of mod podge all over. Then I threaded them onto the skewer and let them dry. They were fun to make. Go over and see all of the fun Mod Podge ideas and project's at Xazmin's!

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Have a wonderful day!

XOXO

SImple Woman's Daybook for June 29, 2009

The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY, June 29th, 2009 ...

• Outside My Window...It's very late, and I really should be in bed. I just finished working on a project in my craft room and thought I would check on some blogs before I went to bed...

• I am thinking...About friends. I was able to spend some time with my friend Susan, who is battling breast cancer. She is such a sweet, wonderful, talented person. And today I met my friend Chrissy to giver her a birthday gift. She means the world to me. And when we were in Portland I was able to have dinner with my friend Jill. Jill and I reconnected through Facebook after 15 years of not being in touch.

• I am thankful for...My kids. I was able to take my two oldest children to BYU for some camps today. My son Nick is going to something called EFY (Especially For Youth) which is a church camp for kids 14-18. And my daughter Hayley is also at BYU at a lacross camp. They are able to stay on campus in dorms and hopefully meet some other kids while they are up there. It was fun to take them to BYU and drive around the campus where Jeff and I met. It has changed alot in some ways, but the dorms are virtually the same as they were.
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• From the kitchen...Jeff barbequed some whole chickens tonight and they were so tasty and moist. It was a very good experiment.

• I am wearing...I am still in my clothes that I have worn all day. I really need to get in my PJ's and go to bed!

• creating...I finished a fun project for Xazmin's Mod Podge Mania tomorrow. I think it turned out really well. I am really thankful for this blog because it makes me get some of these projects done that I keep putting off!

• I am going...I am excited to get up in the morning and going walking down in the wilderness area. It is my new thing that I have been doing this summer. It is so beautiful and I love thinking about my day as I see such beautiful scenery. I am going to take my camera with me tomorrow so I can get some shots of the mountains where I walk. They are so green and beautiful right now since we have had so much rain this year.

• I am reading...I just finished a fascinating book called Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Galland. I love historical fiction, and this one is based on a real person who lived in the time of Louis the Fourteenth - in France.

• I am hoping...I need to get my house ready for my sister and her family who are coming to spend the 4th of July with us.

• I am hearing...My fridge is being so loud! I don't know what is wrong with it, but it is making a buzzing sound. For as expensive as it was, I am not impressed with how loud it has been. The ice maker is very noisy!

• Around the house...I finally got all of the laundry done from our trip. I think I did about 20 loads.

• One of my favorite things...I love blogging and I am sorry that I haven't been better about commenting lately. First with our trip and then trying to get caught up with things after. So if I haven't been over to see you, I will be soon!

• A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week..I am going to try to get my house ready for company. Plus my yard. There are a ton of weeds that I need to pull. So maybe I can do that soon. I am going to take my little girls to the pool tomorrow. They are very excited about that! And of course, 4th of July. We have a really fun community parade in our neighborhood every year. It starts off with a big pancake breakfast and then the parade. Anyone can be in it. So my kids love that. They love decorating their bikes and scooters and throwing candy to the people watching. My sister and her family will be with us and then my other sister and her husband a little baby Hudson will be coming out and staying with my mom. It will be fun to have all of the cousins together!

To see more Simple Woman's Daybook entries, go on over to Grandmother Wren's . And don't forget Mod Podge Mania is tomorrow at Xazmin's - it should be really fun!

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Have a wonderful week and a Super 4th!

XOXO