100!

So... this is post #100 for me, so I thought I would celebrate that with 100 of my favorites. (No worries, this is more for me than anyone else, I won't be offended if you don't read it... but the last 10 are favorite pictures...)
PEOPLE
1. Joe
2. Lilia
3. Lacey
4. Family
5. My In Laws
6. The Gospel
7. God
8. Jesus Christ
9. My Ward
10. Friends

TV
11. Biggest Loser (yay for Vicky NOT Winning!)
12. Heroes
13. House
14. Lost
15. Eli Stone
16. Ugly Betty
17. Pushing Daisies
18. The Closer
19. The Office
20. Chuck

BOOKS
21. Scriptures
22. Harry Potters
23. Twilight Saga
24. Fablehaven Series
25. The Giver
26. Bruce Coville books
27. Anita Stansfield books
28. Robert Langdon Series (Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons)
29. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books (I know- but they were good!!)
30. The BFG

MOVIES
31. Harry Potters
32. Mary Poppins
33. Pete’s Dragon
34. White Christmas
35. Cutting Edge
36. First Wives Club
37. Con Air
38. Court Jester
39. Better Off Dead
40. Down Periscope

HOMEMADE FOOD (ask if you want any of these recipes)
41. Honey BBQ Ribs
42. Butterscotch Yams
43. Nik’s Ham and Noodles (I was surprised at how unbelievable this tastes!)
44. Mindy’s Crock Pot Chicken Burritos
45. Mom’s Tacos (or Enchiladas)
46. Natalie’s Oatmeal Bread
47. Rachel’s Gingersnaps and Pumpkin Dip
48. Banana Slugs (homemade breadsticks)
49. Stroganoff
50. White Chili

RESTAURANT FOOD
51. Crème Brule (it was fantastic at Maglbys, but anywhere works)
52. Café Rio (or Costa Vida) Smothered Pork Burrito with black beans and mild sauce
53. The Madarin’s Orange Chicken
54. Olive Garden’s Breadsticks with half and half dipping sauce (you ask for half marinara half alfredo sauce and mix them together)
55. El Pollo Loco’s Flan
56. Roxberry Juice’s Orchard Harvest (with raspberries instead of blueberries)
57. Sizzler’s Ribs (better in my opinion than even Tony Roma’s)
58. Joe’s Crab Shack’s Coconut Shrimp
59. Spaghetti Factory’s Mizithera and Browned Butter
60. Chili’s Chips and Salsa

SMELLS
61. Fresh Baked Bread
62. Petracore (the smell that is given off from the cement when it rains)
63. Freshly bathed baby (preferably in Baby Magic)
64. Apple desserts baking (though I am not fond of apple desserts, I do love the smell)
65. Cucumber Melon (Bath and Bodyworks)
66. Boiling Milk (I dunno- something soothing about the smell…)
67. Craft Stores
68. Joe’s aftershave lotion
69. Bounce Fabric softener
70. Book Stores

SONGS
71. Sing Along by Dave Matthews and Blue Man Group
72. Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth by Bing Crosby and David Bowie
73. Finger Tips by TMBG
74. All of Les Miserables
75. Step In Time (on Mary Poppins)
76. The Way by Fastball
77. One Week by Bare Naked Ladies
78. Inside Out by Eve 6
79. Gonna Be by The Proclaimers
80. YMCA by The Village People

RANDOM STUFF
81. Lilia’s smile when she is NOT trying to smile
82. Lacey’s smile when a camera is trained on her
83. Lacey’s cuddling
84. Lilia’s “ideas”
85. Songs in a minor key
86. The annual primary program
87. My girls laughing together
88. My nieces singing the Happy Birthday song (cha-cha-cha!)
89. Family Reunion
90. Either daughter trying to make the other one smile (as long as its not during bedtime)

PICTURES (I have way more than 10 favorites, but these rank pretty high up there... and they are in no particular order)
91.

92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.

Allergies?

So as some of you might know, I went in for allergy testing this week. And the results are in. I couldn't help but share a few of my more odd results.

Now first off, I was tested mainly for my allergy to metal. And boy am I ever allergic. The dermatologist was a bit alarmed at my reaction to Nickel. Which is a pretty common metal. But- most of my other allergies are minor. Though the dermatologist made it a point to warn me that they may be slight now, but the more I handle the items I am allergic to the worse the allergy will become. So now- on to my allergies!

The proper name for the items I am allergic to are:

Nickel
Wood Alcohols (Lanolin)
Ethylenediamine Dihydrochloride
Cobalt Dichloride
Mercapto Mix
Tixocortol-21-Pivalate


Now these items are located in some pretty common items! Like I mentioned before I am pretty severely allergic to Nickel, so I really need to avoid things like Zippers, buttons, watchbands, anything less that 18-ct gold (platinum and 18-ct or higher gold should be fine), scissors, keys, coins... yeah- that sucks. The doc said if I can help it, and I am gonna have prolonged contact with any of these items I should wear protective cotton gloves... why cotton you ask? WELL- it seems one of my lesser allergies is a key ingredient in rubber! I am mildly allergic to rubber gloves! Amongst other rubber items...

Some other items I should avoid due to allergies?
Cosmetics such as foundations, powders, blush, mascara, LIPSTICK and CHAPSTICK, etc.
Most lotions
Pet shampoos
Hair removal products (like Nair)
Cement
Bricks
Cobalt based paints
DENTAL IMPLANTS (such as the one I need next month)
Vitamin B12
most forms of natural rubber
wetsuits
neoprene
hydrocortisone creams
Prednisone
Steroid:groub b and group d2
Desonide (read: Desitin)
ear, nose and eye drops

And that folks, is how SCREWED UP I AM! :) I can't help but laugh at a good portion of these allergies. Mostly because everything on this second list is just a mild allergy. I don't react too bad, at least not yet...

Awesome! :)

Play date!

Can I just say that I have some pretty awesome neighbors? Cause I do. And I just love that there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood. And that both my girls have plenty of kids their age to play with. Earlier this week I had one of the neighbor girls over to play. I am sorry to say that until Christmas comes around, I am not too well equipped with every girls favorite activity... dress up. So I was forced to do my best with what I had. I decided to make cupcakes for the girls to decorate. I happened to have a bunch of Christmas sprinkles and such left over from the cookies we made a few weeks ago, so I sat the girls down at the table with some cupcakes, frosting and plenty of sprinkles. Needless to say they had plenty of fun and all kinds of sugar in their system by the end of the play date!


Even Lacey got to participate!


They may have some awfully serious looks on their faces, but they were all enjoying it...


the temptation to munch as they decorate finally got to one of them... not sure which one did the nibbling!


Lacey had all sorts of fun sneaking one of the cupcakes. I caught her only after she had taken the top off her cupcake all together!

Dinner and disaster!

We had some friends come over for dinner last night. It was SO GREAT catching up with them, and I REALLY enjoyed talking with them all (though I especially loved talking with Jordyn and Julie). I am so glad they came up for dinner (Thanks Julie, Ben and Russ!)!

BUT- with all the noise and awesomeness (read: fun chaos) all of us managed to NOT hear Lacey take yet another tumble down the stairs. I had removed the gate because at OTHER peoples houses, Lacey handles the stairs pretty well. But for whatever reason she doesn't like our stairs (hmm... maybe its because she keeps FALLING DOWN THEM!). Well- This fall was by far the worst one yet. Poor girl has one heckuva bump or two, and scratched up her face.

This was right after the incident:


This was this morning...


It's hard for pictures to do it any justice. This was a pretty nasty looking mess last night. There were two bumps and a lot of bruising and scrapes around her eye.
This last picture gives a pretty good look at the size of the bump...


And that was this morning! Imagine how much worse it looked last night!

Good news is that she is acting normal and I have all day today and tomorrow to monitor and decide if she might be concussed and need to see a doctor (so far all signs point to her being just fine...)

Family Party!

So my cousin and brother (roommates) invited the fam over to their apartment for a night of cocoa, cookies, laughter, and all sorts of good times. I, like usual, failed to bring my camera. BUT- my very best friend (and cousin) did happen to remember hers. (I think her camera resides in her purse... she always has it!)

Anyway- so I stole her pictures and am posting them here for everyone to see!

First off, my unbelievably tall brother Kevin.



Okay so maybe he isn't THAT tall. But he pretty tall. Here he is with my baby brother David.



It's like the Jolly Green Giant and Paul Bunion! I swear my younger brothers are HUGE! (Now to be quite honest, they ARE standing next to a 6 foot tree and a totally fake fireplace, so they look much taller than they actually are...)


To give you a better perspective, here is a picture of LACEY in front of the fireplace. Someone in their apartment complex made the mistake of challenging the always creative duo (Kevin and my cousin, Steven) to a decorations contest. This fireplace is made of ply wood, paint and some awesome tissue paper fire (amongst other things)... Bet you can't guess who won!



Lacey was such a sucker for the camera! Always has been. She sees a camera and comes running, smile always ready.



Then came the well known, annual tradition...




of taping your big sister (me) to the ceiling...




What?! Not a tradition in your family? Wow! You are SO behind the times! (okay- totally kidding. But this should help you see the size difference between me and my younger brothers!)

During the whole ordeal, Joe sat on the couch smiling, and it wasn't until Lil came in the room that I stood a chance of escape. She was in near hysterics crying while they attempted to tape me up. So being the good uncles they were, they put me down to calm Lilia down.



Thanks for saving me Lil!



We had so much fun catching up. I just LOVE my family! All sorts of fun, lemme tell ya. Both girls had more than their fair share of cookies and chocolate. ESPECIALLY Lacey. She is a chocolate FIEND.

Eventually it was time to head home. We bundled our girls up in their jammies for the drive home, and smart little Lacey, who knew that jammies mean bedtime, got very very sad.



All in all a great night, filled with, Chastity Lines, Spare Oom, Delicious gold fish, and some pretty boisterous laughter... (don't ask- we are NUTS)

Hope this season is a great one for you all!

It's Christmas Time

Christmas for me is a hit and miss holiday. Sometimes I LOVE Christmastime, and other years... I get so tired of the commercialism and greed. Needless to say I really have to work hard to get myself in the proper frame of mind. This year is still up for grabs. I haven't really felt strongly one way or the other. Financially, Joe and I are doing well this year, and though I am very happy with our gifts we have purchased for our children and family, I am also very happy with the donations we have been able to make this year. One in particular is special to me. There is a family I know who has had a pretty rough year so far. They found out in August that their two-year-old, Brynlee, has cancer... needless to say it's been a rough year for this beautiful family and Brynlee's grandma has set up a BLOG to keep track of Bryn's progress and a PAYPALL ACCOUNT to help the family out. If any of you feel the need, you are more than welcome to contribute to Brynlee's account. Heaven knows how expensive treatment has been (and will continue to be).

The girls are being pretty good for me so far this year. Lacey loves undecorating the bottom of the tree. I finally gave up and just collect the ornaments she has removed and only replace them once a day instead of all day long... Lil loves looking at the gifts that are slowly collecting under the tree. She keeps asking if it is Christmas yet. We are gonna be having a little talk here soon on what Christmas is really about (as in, not about getting presents). I am also gonna take the girls out to get presents for Daddy and each other. (Yes Joe- I am gonna start that this year- no worries... I was thinking the dollar store would be an ideal shopping place for the girls).

So... my cousin Connie tagged me earlier this week for a survey that is all about Christmas. So, on with the show!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper unless the gift is odd shaped...
2. Real tree or artificial tree? Artificial all the way!
3. When do you put up your tree? I usually try to get it up the day after Thanksgiving... but this year it was up two days after.
4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as I get around to it...
5. Do you like eggnog? Sure. But I have to dilute it with milk to make it drinkable.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Well- I wasn't really a child per se, but I think my favorite gift would be the last one I got from my dad (and my mom too of course) and that would be my Letterman Jacket. If you really want a CHILDHOOD gift then I would have to say my Cabbage Patch Doll...
7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother in law
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have two- both with broken pieces from the kiddo's... I may have to invest in the Little People Nativity.
10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? I like to receive mail. I suck at sending it though- so e-mail wishes are great for me!
11. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th. I am always on the lookout for a good gift!
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yeah. Last year I received a game for my girls that had been given to me by the same person the year before! So I gave the game to a friend.
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Well- I would have to say my mom's homemade candy. Especially the English Toffee.
15. Lights on the tree? White only.
16. Favorite Christmas song? Most people don't know my favorite one, since it is a Primary song (a youth song from my church) it's called, "Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus." My favorite MAINSTREAM song is "Little Drummer Boy/Teach the Children"
by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both. Travel to see family in the area, after spending the morning at home.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Commet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, Rudolph, and Olive (you know- Olive, the other reindeer?)
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
20. Do you open Presents Christmas eve or Christmas day? The girls open a specific present (containing Jammies) on Christmas Eve, everything else waits for Christmas Day.
21. The most annoying thing about this time of year? Commercialism and Greed
22. Favorite ornament theme and color? I don't have a favorite theme, I do a traditional country style tree. But I do have a favorite Christmas ornament STYLE. Blue and White Snowmen... hard to explain. I may just take a picture and post it here to show what I am talking about...
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Something easy. OR a big family feast with the extended family.
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? I am happy with the idea of the donations made being my main gift, but my girls are more than welcome to get me little things for the home (like a new large sauce pan or a new bathroom rug...)
25. Favorite Christmas tradition? Well- Joe and I are still in the midst of finding our own little traditions, but we do like sitting down with the girls and telling the Christmas Story to them on Christmas Eve (with the visual help from one of our Nativity sets).

As far as tagging others is concerned... I will tag Julie, Diane, and anyone else who feels the need to do this tag as well! But especially Julie and Diane...

Hope you all have an amazing, spectacular, and festive holiday season!

All I want for Christmas

A friend of mine, Mindy, wrote a blog earlier today about her daughters first attempt at a letter to Santa. And lemme tell ya- it was absolutely fantastic and so CUTE! Mindy's daughter is in Lilia's preschool class, and she is a pretty smart kiddo! She is also an extremely polite little girl! I love having her over to play with Lilia because of how well behaved she is. Anyway- totally beside the point!

So of course, as soon as I read that blog I asked Lil if she wanted to write a letter to Santa. Of course Lilia loved the idea, and so she found a pad of paper and a pen and proceeded to write out her list. Of course, she is only 4, so you can't expect a perfect letter yet, but she did her best!

She asked Santa for:

PEDRPAN (Peter Pan- When I told her she already had Peter Pan, she said, "Oh yeah! oops!" and crossed it out.)

PRPL BIC (A purple bike- "I already have a pink one, now I want a purple one")

TIKRBEL (Tinkerbell the movie)

COR (A car- not sure why, but that's what she says she wants!)

She also added that she wants some JAMUS (Jamma's as in Pajama's...)