Bonjour!

Bonjour!
I’m a 51 year old mother of five amazing daughters and wife to a caring, sensitive AND sexy husband. I adore my family. I’m dedicated to my faith. I enjoy a good laugh. I'm nostalgic and love to reminisce. "Remember" is my favorite word in the English language. I love life! I’m passionate about music, food and {dreams of} traveling the world. I wanna be a castle and waterfall chaser. I’m fascinated with anything European. {PARIS! Hello!} I love celebrating anything and everything! I love to read, especially a good biography, mystery, Regency Era Romance or Historical fiction novel. I love thoughtful gift giving. To me the gift wrap is almost as important as the gift itself. I have a bit of an obsession with gift boxes and gift bags. As well as old world maps & globes, apothecary bottles and jars! I love being creative…bolts of ribbon, coordinating scrapbook papers, producing a table scape, or planning décor for a themed party puts a smile on my face. I love the details! I’m a freak for anything theme oriented. I enjoy event planning, but oddly enough do not like to host or entertain. I enjoy fashion, but have to really be in the mood to clothes shop. I love purses and funky costume jewelry. Especially big rings! I’d rather wear wedges or heels any day than flats. I enjoy decorating and searching for the perfect decorative pillow or picture. However, you’ll never see me frequent high-end stores. I'm more of a Ross, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning kind of gal. My favorite decor style is an old world rustic Italian chateau/Spanish Villa look with a hint of bohemian! OR a vintage shabby chic French country cottage/English cobblestone farmhouse. My #1 cookie-Molasses! Autumn is my favorite season. I’d go through childbirth a million times. I enjoy biking with my man, Pilates, and power walking. You’ll never find me in a gym working out. I love movies, whether watching them in the theatre or cuddled up on the couch with my family. I enjoy a good chick flick or real life drama! I'm a sucker for movies on the Hallmark & Great American Family Channel. I have a tender heart for the elderly. I adore Disneyland. I enjoy being in the canyon on a summer or fall evening at dusk. I love my friends. While I have some extroverted characteristics. I’m a self proclaimed introvert. I’m generally quiet, calm, reserved and pretty darn private. Why in the heck do I blog? It’s a creative way to record family history. I enjoy photography. I really don’t like to write, although I write in my journal often. My journals, patriarchal blessing, scriptures, quote book, and beloved Christmas tree filled with ornaments of family memories are among my prized possessions. I love the beach. I enjoy WWII history. I love a clean, orderly house, but ours usually looks lived in. ;) PBS Masterpiece is my friend. I adore Jane Austen films. They transport me to another time and place. If I had to choose another time period in which to live, early 19th Century England would be my pick. "Sense and Sensibility" is my all time favorite movie. My 3 favorite TV series are...BBC's Larkrise to Candleford, the 1950's Spanish Drama "Velvet," and the travel/food show "Somebody Feed Phil." My biggest pet peeve is people who blow their noses in public. So gross! {Take it to the bathroom people.} I’d go on a wine tasting vacation if it wasn’t against my religion. I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby from a foreign country. I’m an avid BYU football fan. I'm a Educational Support Professional. I tutor elementary kids in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading, fluency and comprehension. I love our campfires at Scofield Lake. I have a 'thing' for fairy gardens, Gallic French roosters, fresh flowers in a vase, pretty bowls & plates, and yummy smelling candles & soap. I love summer rainstorms and warm baths. I'm a scripture podcast fanatic. I'm also a fan of several Fox News shows; Hannity and Dave Ramsey Talk Radio. I very much miss Rush Limbaugh! I hate when my kids have homework. I'd rather clean 20 toilets than give a talk or prayer in church. I have quite a collection of Madame Alexander Dolls, children's books, Disney pins, and quotes. My favorite quote is "Don't underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak & notice more than you realize." True True LOL! I always prefer sitting in a back row versus the front. {I'm sort of a seat snob..yikes} I also have high expectations for my lemonade, salsa, and french fries too. HA! I work well behind the scenes. I love a good Dateline, 20/20 or 48 Hour Mystery. I’m a night owl. I'd rather be cold than hot. I love to budget our finances! I enjoy being a chauffeur to my children. I'm not a huge fan of social media. I don't snap, pin or tweet. All I want for Christmas every year is a ticket to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It's my FAVORITE. I’m an Anglophile…a royal watcher who loves anything English! Especially tea parties! I would like to serve a church mission to England with Jaren someday. I'm queen of paper towel, used kitchen dishrags and sponges kinda make me squirm. You’ll rarely find me out of the house not ready for the day, except when driving the kids to school on the days I don't work. I feel naked without lipstick or lip gloss. Mismatched socks, chipped fingernail polish, chapped lips and brownie crumbs on the floor drive me nuts! I like to organize and BE organized..but not saying I always am. ;) I enjoy hiking to waterfalls, ATV’ing with my family and snowshoeing with the hubs. Although I enjoy collecting recipes and occasionally watch cooking shows... (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, Paula Deen, Jamie Oliver, and the Pioneer Woman are my favorites) I’d rather not cook. Eating out is so much more fun. I'm a foodie. I live to EAT! LOL Trying new foods and restaurants is a favorite past-time, and believe it or not so is intermittent fasting. I'm not good at a lot of things... but gosh, if you need help with a themed celebration or someone to enjoy good food with, I'm your girl. I love the joy of anticipation and the celebration of holidays. Family traditions are important to me. I'm a memory preserver. I'm a pathological picture taker ;) a visual storyteller, and a lover of happy lists!

My Fam!

My Fam!

The Hubs and I

The Hubs and I

My Girls!

My Girls!

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Emma Abigail (26)

Emma Abigail (26)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Mr. Charles "Bingley" Wentworth III (4 yrs.)

Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam "Darcy", Duke of Westridge (3 yrs.)

My Man!

My Man!

Good Times!

Good Times!

Wedding Day 5*17*22

Lillian "Lilly" Belle

Disney Food Fun! 2019

Disneyland Tips

What I Believe!

Our Missionary

We Bleed Blue! {Except for the Poppi}

My list of favorite movies!

Learn more about Dyslexia!

Music To My Ears!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

What's On My Happy List?

Just a few random things on my Happy List!

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!!!!

The boys are back with an awesome CD released last week. {been wait'in a long time.} Love it and love them! The Frenchman in red is my pretend boyfriend. *wink*


Civic Duty
Election Day...Our friend Brett Hales ran for city council. His campaign manager called me a few days before election day to ask if I'd help with some last minute efforts to garner support for our chosen candidate. On the list was encouraging people to go vote before the polls closed by participating in a honk and wave. I can do honk and waves! {Brett remembered my mad skills in this area haha from my David Archuleta days here and here}  Actually Emmsie and I hid behind the signs half the time but

these two girls, Hannah and her friend, holding our home made signs {we made 8!}, are the perfect age for this kind of thing...they had no qualms about making fools of themselves at all. 

We had high schoolers across the street participating too. And other helpers at different intersections. After an hour and a half in like 40 degree weather, we could not feel the toes or fingers. McDonald's hot chocolate was a must. We figured our evening was successful with our 70 + honks & waves that we accumulated and only one boo and flip off.  For reals! The Mr. and I went to a gathering late that night in behalf of Brett and we were there to watch the final voting results come in. The room broke out in a hoopla. It was such a close race, as he was up against the incumbent of several years. But he won!  


No more glasses!
My Nana Bella got contacts...6th grade seems to be the year around here for that. She has done so well with them and can get them in and out like a pro!


                        New instrument in the house!
Emma got her bagpipes! Her rental ones anyway.. She has been so excited about this. She's only been playing the chanter {which is the instrument you play before transitioning into the pipes} for 6 months. Usually it takes a year so she has progressed fast. Her flute playing I'm sure helped. Her teacher said when she first got her pipes it took her 2 to 3 weeks to even get a sound out. But Emma was producing sound the first day! So proud  of her. Pipes are way hard to play as the breathing is tricky. It often sounds like a sick cow is among us, but boy when she gets it right, the sound is magnificent. Grandpa B. is a huge bagpipe lover so we snuck in G & G B's house that evening so she could try to serenade him. She started blowing away as best she could in the kitchen in hopes that they would hear her {how could they not} from upstairs.  What a surprise for them!       


Sister Love!
Look alike hair do's

                                     Pumpkin Treats!

Pumpkin Seeds
One of my favorite fall treats! Cut open and gut one of your Halloween pumpkins. Rescue the seeds. After rinsing, you can season them anyway you want. {We sprinkled a little garlic butter and salt on them.} Then roast them on 300 degrees for 30 minutes. So yummy!
  

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes
By Our Best Bites

 Emma made these from a recipe she got from the LDS Living Magazine.

{If you are a pumpkin pie lover, this is a must try!}

1/3 cup pumpkin puree, canned or homemade
¼–½ cup milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

Put everything but the graham crackers into the blender. Start with ¼ cup milk and slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. Sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top before serving.

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