off to the trailer park we go...

When Olivia was born with hair like this:


I naively envisioned long locks of brown hair falling down her back and thick bouncy pig tails in her near future. Smitten with love for this new little bundle of joy, I neglected to take this into account:


Look closely. Do you see it? She has a clearcut case of "old man hair" - thick around the edges and sparse on top. Maybe I did see it back then, maybe I just didn't want to- I was holding on very tightly to dreams of those dadgum piggy tails.

And now, 19 months later, my sweet little thing is most definetly engaged in the biggest hair-challenged experience of her little life- the mullet. I kid you not. I know she needs a little more length in the back to compete with the mullet enthusiasts of our day, but as a mother, is that something I can allow?


Today I decided something must be done. What can I do for this baby? She will look back and wonder why I never did anything to get her on the fast track to that beautiful hair I so dreamed of. I try, I really do. A headband lasts about 15 seconds before it is ripped off and stuffed in her mouth. A hat is gone before I can place it on her head. She doesn't even have enough hair to make a poof on top. So today, in an attempt to reclaim some of my dreams for this child and her glorious head of hair (or lack thereof), we introduced this new do:


I lovingly refer to this masterpiece as "glorified rat tail". Glorified only because there is a bow involved. It appears we may need to put her little bike up on blocks in the front yard, buy her some tube tops, and change her name to Brandeen.

Praise to the Man

Since the passing of President Hinckley on Sunday, I've been reflecting on my life and the way in which I feel he has impacted my life as a prophet of God. For me personally, he has been a very comforting prophet. I have always felt uplifted listening to him. His perspective on life was beautiful and he always managed to turn discouraging things into positive things. I have at times found myself feeling down or overwhelmed by kids, callings, or just the general state of the world. And wouldn't you know it, there is President Hinckley reminding me of what a great mother and Daughter of God I am. Always reminding me of my potential and patting me on the back saying "keep up the good work." Amazing. I love it. I feel that as a member of the church I have been so blessed to be taught by him and to have felt of his love for me and for the Lord. He has said so many amazing things that have impacted my life for good. Here and there I find something he has said that really speaks to me on a certain day or during a certain situation in my life. And today, I like this one:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us...If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Getting to know ME

My friend Natalie emailed me this "getting to know your friends" thing. Honestly, I have never answered one of these in my life. But since I figure it was rather painful for Natalie to do it, I figure I can do it. Instead of emailing it to everyone, I thought I would post it here- add to the fun, ya know? This is a first for me people, be kind. Oh, and while I'm rambling on, I also have to mention that I'm not so good at the one word answers. I'm a bit wordy, if you haven't noticed. I am also NOT a favorites person. I don't have favorites. I like everything. Well, mostly everything. I'm weird that way. I can't pick one thing to save my life. Seriously, me and a multiple choice test is a major disaster waiting to happen. I can talk every answer into being the right answer. Now if that doesn't tell you anything about me and highschool... Here goes- and feel free to do this on your blog as well. I'm going to be checking (no pressure).

1. What time did you get up this morning? I tossed and turned all night but wasn’t actually forced out of bed until about 8:00 when Livvy woke up. Isn't that awesome? I would not be a happy camper if I had to wake up at 5:45 with Dave everyday. He doesn't like getting up that early either which is why he dislikes that I am more of a night person trying to keep him awake chatting and such.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds (but I really do love pearl earrings!)
3. Last movie you saw in the theater? We took the kids to see the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D- I don't think I have seen one since- Dave will have to correct me if I am wrong.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Do I have to pick one? I hate this! The office.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don’t really love breakfast, unless it’s bacon, eggs, and hash browns. That said, I usually force down either yogurt, toast, or leftovers
6. What is your middle name? Anne (Anne with an E! I’ve always loved that- way to go mom and dad!)
7. What food do you dislike? Generally, I like all food. I'm kind of piggy that way. I complain to Dave that he is too picky and his response is “You just like everything so if I don’t like one thing, I’m picky.” Whateva! If I must choose, one time Dave’s brother hauled us to a fancy restaurant where they placed scallops on top of my steak- I didn’t like them AT ALL. I even like seafood but something about those just grossed me out and I don't ever want to eat them again. Not ever. And I had a bad experience with prime rib when I was pregnant.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Wicked soundtrack
9. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Sienna
10. Favorite sandwich? Since I can’t think of an actual sandwich with a name, from a place, I’ll just tell you what I love on a sandwich- turkey, avocado (not guacamole), olives, tomato and really about anything else I can pile on there. Yum!
11. What characteristics do you despise? selfishness
12. Favorite item of clothing? White Downeast t-shirts that I wear under practically everything.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Right now I just want to go to Hawaii.
14. What color is your bathroom? So boring and so tan colored.
15. Favorite brand of clothing? I like buying my clothes at Maurices.
16. Where would you retire? Are you kidding me? We are way too far away to even think about this. That said, Dave has been saying St. George so that he can play golf all year but I’m leaning toward anywhere the majority of my kids are.
17. Most memorable birthday? My 30th was fun because Dave planned a surprise party for me! How cool is that? Then there was that surprise party back when I was 15 that I helped my friend Katie plan… yeah… I really shouldn’t admit to these things.
18. Favorite sport to watch? I don’t really enjoy watching sports. I guess I watch Jazz basketball more than anything.
19. Who do you expect to send this back to you? I’m actually only sending this to the person that sent it to me and then posting it on my blog so I guess this doesn’t apply. I know I’m sort of party-pooperish when it comes to things like this.
20. Favorite saying? Seriously
21. When is your birthday? April 28
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night! I really want to be a morning person. I accomplish so much when I get up early but I’m just so tired in the morning (probably because I stay up late. Ha!)
23. What is your shoe size? 7-7 ½
24. Pets? No pets here…EVER. Well, my brother-in-law Mike did bring over goldfish and put them in our water feature in the front yard. I figured that was an instant death sentence. However, one of those things lasted the whole summer. Crazy stuff.
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I can’t remember that far back.
26. What are you today? I stay at home and am bossed around by small children. It’s lovely. Mostly I am a pee cleaner-upper. Sad but true.
27. What is your favorite candy? Ehhh…don’t love candy so much.
28. Your favorite flower? I wouldn’t say I really have a favorite flower but I do love the smell of roses. I planted a few in my yard last Spring just for that very reason.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Friday
30. What church/synagogue do you attend? I’m a Mormon, yes I am! Although I do prefer to say I’m LDS. It’s just one of those things.
31. What are you listening to right now? I can hear “Go Diego Go” in the background- this is the torment I get at 11:00 at night for letting my kids fall asleep on the couch earlier in the day!
32. What was the last thing you ate? String cheese
33. Do you wish on stars? sometimes
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? This goes back to the favorites thing and I really don’t have a favorite color. So today I say BLUE.
35. What is your pet peeve? Smoking- it’s strange to me that people smoke in their cars- don’t they think about re-sale?
36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My brother Russell and he invited me to a raging party- doesn't get much better than that!
37. Favorite soft drink? Can I just alter this by saying my beverage of choice is water. Growing up my dad really liked Squirt, therefore, I liked Squirt and I still do but I drink it like once a year, if that.
38. Favorite restaurant? I think I really need to get out more before I can answer this question. I’d probably have to say Café Rio right now. I so love Mexican food!
39. Hair Color? Blonde
40. Favorite day of the year? Christmas is kind of fun.
41. What was your favorite toy as a child? I have very fond memories of getting a My Child doll for Christmas one year when they were all the rage. My mom had to fight crowds and beat people off with a stick just to get her hands on one. The things we do for our children… But do you remember those dolls? They had a soft fuzzy face and they smelled like baby powder or something. Loved mine!
42. Summer or winter? summer
43. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
44. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
45. When was the last time you cried? Last Saturday, I think.
46. What is under your bed? Kid’s toys and I’m crossing my fingers that there aren’t any rotten sippy cups. I try not to look under there very often. If I don't look, it's just not there, right?
47. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Deborah
48. What did you do last night? Took a nap
49. Favorite smell? I like to walk into my house and smell my spiced cider wallflowers.
50. What are you afraid of? Snakes and anything that looks remotely like them. I haven’t ever touched a worm except when I had to dissect one in Middle School but I had gloves on.
51. How many keys on your key ring? 3 big ones and a couple small ones (can someone remind me what those ones are for??!!!)
52. How many years at your current job? I like to think my job started the day I married Dave- that means nearly 8 years.
53. Favorite day of the week? Friday
54. How many towns have you lived in? Towns, meaning cities? I’m assuming this is different than states- 6
55. Do you make friends easily? Yes, I would like to think so.

Disney On Ice- Princess Wishes

This week as I have been prying into other people's lives via the world wide web, I came upon this valuable info. Anyone who wants to get tickets to Disney Princess on Ice you can click here and enter the word BELLE into the promotions box to purchase tickets before the general public. The show is March 12-16 and the presale ends Jan. 27th.

So who wants to go? Call me call me call me. It will be fun. I am planning on ordering our tickets very soon. Sara will just think she has died and gone to heaven. I asked her today who her favorite princess is. She said, "Cinderella (pause), and Belle (pause), and Jasmine". She just loves them all. Everytime she gets in the tub she belts it out like Ariel. So funny. I'm excited!

Romance is in the air

What says love more than Adobe Photoshop Elements 6? I picked this up today for myself from Dave for Valentine's Day. Did you get all of that? Romantic, isn't it? I just couldn't resist that Costco $30 off rebate. And so, to justify my purchase I called Dave and let him know his Valentine's Day shopping was done already. He was thinking that this was some girl trick, you know, the whole I said not to buy me something but I still expect you to buy me something trick. After repeating myself several times that I was absolutely sure, he was like "okay, so I really don't need to get you something?" Really. I'm good- except flowers, of course. I made that part clear.

Chicken with Lemon-caper sauce

I love capers. They are such funky little things. A while back I was in the mood for a lemon-chicken-caper dinner and found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I'm not saying you won't have a cardiac arrest after you eat it, I'm just saying we think it's good. That's all I'm saying. Taylor calls it "sour chicken" and Sara just wants to eat "the little bean things" aka- capers. They eat it though- that's all that really matters. I've pretty much decided that when my kids say they don't want to eat something, I put it on their plate anyway. If they don't eat it, fine. Each time we eat it, I put it on their plate and I've found that eventually they eat it and like it. Taylor and mashed potatoes are a perfect example. Having him help me in the kitchen to smash them up has also been a big help to get him to eat them. Aren't I tricky? Anyway, if you are in the mood for something new and tart- try this out. I usually double the sauce (yep, that means a whole stick of butter...)

CHICKEN WITH LEMON-CAPER SAUCE

1/2 tsp salt
½ cup flour
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 Tbl olive oil
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbl capers, drained

Mix together salt and flour. Coat the chicken and shake off excess. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in hot oil until both sides are golden brown and the inside has turned white and firm. Remove chicken and set aside in a warm place. Pour chicken broth into skillet and allow it to boil as you dissolve the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice and allow it to come to a boil, cook for a few minutes until reduced by half. Sprinkle the cubed butter in to the boiling sauce. Swirl and shake the pan vigorously to melt the butter, thus thickening the sauce. The butter must never come to rest, or the sauce will separate and become oily. Once the butter has completely melted, remove from heat and stir in capers. Pour the lemon-caper sauce over the chicken. Serve over angel hair pasta.

Oh Happy Day!

I guess I've decided that sleep is optional tonight. I need to do a quick shout out to my brother Mark and his new wife Annie! They got married on Friday in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the day, both from Annie.

1. Right after they were married and the sealer told them to kiss Annie said, and I quote, "sweet" in the most squeaky-giddy-excited-bride voice I have ever heard.

2. " You are all my brothers and sisters. I have a family!" Annie is an only child so you can only imagine that joining the Monson family might take a little getting used to.

It was a fun day! We are so excited to have Annie in our family.

As far as pictures go, I don't have any fabulous ones because it was freezing and snowing right after they were married.

I think these pictures say all you need to know about these two-

Livvy just came for the food...