Pay It Forward

PAY IT FORWARD.

It may look like a 4th grader, but I'm in. Read on for more....

PAY IT FORWARD

The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice--for you! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It WILL be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?
5. Most importantly, you must offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

And the AI losers are....

What! What!! Jorge!! I CANNOT believe that Anoop is saved from elimination tonight! I was convinced that he was leaving and I wasn't sure who the other person would be. I didn't suspect Jorge though. I liked him, thought his voice was great. I even thought his performance was good, definately better than Anoop. Don't get me wrong, I am an Anoop fan. He has a lot of energy, pizazz if you will, on stage and he is fun to watch. But WOW!!! That one caught me with my mouth wide open. Jasmine, not so much. I was surprized that the judges put her through actually. I would have chosen that Alicia Keys sing-alike (Felicity? I can't remember her name) over Jasmine.

Since I'm here...My favorite this season is Adam. I think he's awesome and I think he will probably win. His voice is amazing! However, there are several strong voices here and I think there are about 4 top contenders that this whole deal could go to: Adam, Lil, Danny, or Allison. I think that the girl with the pink hair (what's her name again?) is running right behing them, the third strongest girl. Any thoughts? I have to seek out Idol fans since my husband could care less.

Sasha's new toy

At least someone is using it! Ha ha! I can't keep her off of it. I guess she sees Gabby doing her "exercises" and has to try it out for herself.

AI reactions

Hey all, I just watched American Idol tonight and I have to post. The girls really bombed! I liked the girl with the pink hair, but that's it. Tatiana is driving me crazy. I can't stand her. Drama Queen! Simon hit it on the head. I actually am trying to vote tonight to help make sure she doesn't get through. A first for me since I watch American Idol but I don't vote. The guys were alright too, not up to what I was expecting from this group. I like Danny (is that his name? The last guy who's wife died), and the musician guy with the crazy hair. I guess I should learn their names. Tough competition, the odds are really against everyone since only 3 people get through. I personally think it will be one girl and two guys. We'll see.

Happy Valentine's Day

In my husband's family, holidays are a big deal. Jay's mom always made holidays special by having a nice breakfast and nice holiday decorations. This includes birthdays, where the whole family gets up to make the birthday person breakfast before work/school. On Valentine's Day, this tradition also included some small present for each of the kids. Jay always talks about these memories and so I thought it would be fun to carry them on in our family. Gabby is now at the age where she can start to understand and care about holidays and presents, so I thought I'd start this year to make these events special occastions for her. Here is our Valentine's Day breakfast that we had this morning. In case you can't see: scrambled eggs with cheese on top, bacon, pancakes, milk or chocolate milk (as preference demanded), cantalope, and yummy Costco cinnamon rolls. Each of the girls got a present and Gabby made her Daddy a homemade Valentine card. Jay gave me some flowers a couple days ago, which you can kind of see in the picture. They are very beautiful. I got some paper plates and cups decorated with red and pink hearts, and red napkins for us to use with our meals today.

This is my one Valentine decoration, besides our dinnerware. So here we are as a family, with our Happy Valentine's Day presents. Gabby got a figurine of Belle and Ariel, and a Jasmine book. Sasha got a stuffed animal and a book about shapes. They were happy with their presents. They also got Valentine's Day cards from grandparents and Ggpa. Thanks for the great cards! We love them, and love you too! Thanks for thinking of us.

I'm glad I have this day to celebrate how much I love my family. My children are a joy to me and I feel so blessed that they are such sweethearts. Jay is the love of my life and my best friend. I am so so blessed and lucky to have found him and I love him so much. I hope you all have as much love and joy in your lives as I have in mine.

Gingerbread House mania

Better late than never, huh? When we were in Utah for Christmas, my mom bought a gingerbread house kit for us to do with Gabby while we were staying at her house. But there was so much going on that we never did it. So she told us to take it home. We finally got around to putting it together on Friday (Jan 16th).

I did the icing and Jay and Gabby put on the candy and helped put the house and tree together. We had a good time. By the end Gabby was more interested in eating the candy than putting it on the house. Of course. :) It turned out cute, but I think we should have made the time to do it with my mom. She is a lot better at things like this and has a more steady hand and a craftier eye than I do, I'm sure it would have turned out looking professional with her help. Oh well. Maybe next year we can make sure to have time for it, now that we know how much fun it can be.

Front View

Back View

The creators, and our cheerleader Sasha! :O)

A Christmas picture for you

Thanks for the tips on where to find that David Cook version of "Billie Jean". AWESOME! I got chills watching it and I think my jaw was open the whole time. I hope my husband didn't see me drooling! :) ha ha...

We got family pictures taken the day after Christmas, so I am excited to see them. I should be getting the disk this week, hopefully there is something good to post. Sasha was being such a cheeseball, so I am hoping that there are at least one or two good ones of her. Gabby....well hopefully she is just looking at the camera. We tried to take a family Christmas pic at the LA temple, but we didn't get one that was great of all 4 of us. Gabby was pulling her look-to-the-side face. But by the time we got this pic (see below), we had already tried about 10 other times and I was just tired of it. Plus it was 9:00 p.m. and I had a stomach ache. Who wants to walk around with a pain in her side? Not me. On a more positive note, how awesome is it to be walking around with only a fleece jacket on at 9:00 at night on December 5th? Beautiful weather. I don't miss the snow, I have to say. And the lights at the temple were very beautiful. There is always such a peaceful feeling at the temple and on the grounds. I love being there.

And just never mind about how aweful my hair looks. Wow, I can't believe I was walking around looking this bad for so long. I guess it just goes to show how easy it is to fool yourself. Because when I looked in the mirror, I didn't look like this. Thumbs down. :( Glad Jay still keeps me around. :) (My hair looks much better now...will get pics up soon). P.S. Thanks, Aunt Cami, for the cute hat and socks! Sasha looks adorable and is so warm and comfy! :)