You've Got To Be Pulling on My Leg

Is it just me, or is Dispicable Me the funniest movie on the planet? I'm watching it right now for the third time since Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Employed

Ben recently started a new job where he works from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., four days a week. I think he might be a little tired, because the other day I found Wheat Thins in the refrigerator.

Mysteriously Murdered

I went to a party last night where my elf character was murdered by Ben's elf character. But at least I had cute shoes for my murder scene.

Counting My Blessings

Tonight I bought a viola off a Craigslist ad. It only cost $150, and it sounds beautiful. I'm totally in love with it. But about 5 seconds after I got home from buying my viola, I chipped my front tooth.


Need a closer look?


Now I can't stop thinking about how lucky it is that my tooth didn't break an hour earlier, because if it had happened in reverse order there's no way I could have justified buying a viola and a new tooth in the same week.

Team Red Vines

After knowing Ben for 13 years, I just found out two days ago that he prefers Twizzlers to Red Vines. And now I can’t stop thinking about it. Faint memories are coming back, like the times he would buy those waxy little cherry-flavored “licorice” bites from the gas station on road trips. I just assumed he was desperate and real licorice wasn’t available. Now I’m starting to question whether we’re even compatible. Honestly, Twizzlers? BLECH.

Community Food Co-op

Utahns! Do you know about this?

Look how much food I just got for $10:


You make an online payment a couple weeks before, and then you go pick up a huge amount of produce from a designated location on a certain day each month. You don't get to choose what produce you get, so I guess it's possible that next month I'll get brussels sprouts and avocados, but this month I totally lucked out!

Happy Bumbleween!

From our hive to yours.

Experimenting with Table Lamps

I found these lamps on Craiglist the other day:


The seller only wanted $5 each and I liked their shape, but he lived 23 minutes away and I wasn't sure they were worth the drive. But then he said he would meet me by the freeway, so I couldn't pass them up.

When I got there, I found out that they were actually lamps for giants.


I couldn't really say, "No, thanks," since the guy had driven so far to meet me, so I gave him my $10 and took them home to dissect. It ended up being super easy to take them apart, and then super easy to paint them and put parts of them back together. I got some embroidery hoops and reshaped the lampshades, and now I'm sort of in love.

I Realize It's Not Halloween Yet, But...

Last week I read a post where the writer was reviewing Shutterfly cards in exchange for free personalized Christmas cards. Naturally, I clicked to find out more about it, and today I got an e-mail saying I was eligible for the same deal.

It sounds a little too good to be true, especially since I filled out a survey admitting that I only get 5 hits per year on my blog, but the Shutterfly people told me I could do it. We’ll see if this works.

But seriously, how cute are these?

Peppermint Pink:


Merry Berry Stripes:


Love Stockings:


Goody Garland:


Adorable, right? Here is the entire set of Christmas cards. Don’t be surprised if you get one in your mailbox this Christmas.

You want to try this too, don't you? Go here to get your own free cards. Now if I can just get a deal on a family photo…

She Takes After Her Daddy

Religious Art

Apparently Liam's primary teacher gave him a blank sheet of paper today and told him he could draw whatever he wanted. Naturally, he started with a picture of Jesus:


And followed it up with a picture of Spiderman on the back:

Superheroes In Pajamas

"Let's go saaaaaaave the world, Eliza."

Seasonal Decor

I've seen lots of cute fall decorations floating around the Internet lately, but I think I'm going to take a break from copying other people's ideas and hang an original piece by Liam in my front room this month.

He calls it The Pumpkinator Robot:

Gotta Have It

Have you walked by this display at Target recently?


They weren’t kidding when they told me I “gotta have it.” I’m pretty sure the creators had my kitchen in mind when they designed this stuff. And luckily, my sponsor agreed with their slogan, because my kitchen just became way cuter.


Thanks, Mom!

Bike Brigade Wedding

My friend Rebecca got married last weekend in the same place as Ben and me, and then had her reception at the same place as Ben and me. And yet, her wedding day was at least a million times cooler than mine. Probably more like a billion.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of getting 80 of my friends to ride beach cruisers around Santa Monica after my wedding.

Birthday Boy

Liam turned 5 years old yesterday, and it's totally blowing my mind. Wasn't he just born like a day or two ago?


First birthday:


Second birthday:


Third birthday:


Fourth birthday:


FIFTH BIRTHDAY!


Liam told me when he woke up yesterday, "But I don't feel like I'm five." Funny how that works...I suddenly feel really old.

Overcoming My Mould Allergy

I know I said I wasn't a big fan of moulding, but now I'm kind of addicted.

This time it started with the piece of Ikea furniture that holds our TV:


Black was getting boring, so I painted it white:


But that wasn't enough, so I had to try this new board and batten trick I'd been seeing all over the Internet.

My basement last week:


My basement this week:


Next up: master bedroom. But don't tell Ben!

Still Twinners

Or maybe it's just the glasses...

Hitched

My youngest brother, Devin, got married last month, which means I finally got the baby sister I always dreamed of.

It also means Liam got to do all kinds of fun stuff with his cousin, Jacob.


We’ve been back from the wedding events for a few weeks now, and last night we spent the night at a hotel nearby. We passed a wedding reception on the way from our room to the pool, and as we walked by Liam looked over, saw the bride and groom, and said, "Hey, there's Devin and Lyndee. I wonder if Jacob is over there."

It's the Little Things...

Today I love life because my silverware drawer went from pretty chaotic:


To less chaotic:


There's just something refreshing about knowing exactly where to reach for a plastic kid spoon, and not even getting stabbed by a steak knife or chopstick when I grab it.

Wherein I Fire My Television For Being a Horrible Babysitter

I had a 30-minute meeting in my kitchen tonight, and afterward I came downstairs to find none other than Spiderman himself in my basement.


Luckily I kept Eliza upstairs with me during the meeting. The last thing I need is Spiderman and Batman together in my family room.

Haircut Remarks

Liam: I look like the top of a dinosaur!
Ben: Isn't that what you want to look like?
Liam: No, I want to look handsome!

I Stand Corrected

I think Eliza might have read my post yesterday, because last night when she thought no one was looking she stood up by herself and took six steps.

After 15 months of being totally uninterested, she finally decided she was ready.

Guess Where I Get To Go Tomorrow?